


Carry You

by junevirginia



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Chloe knows the truth, Chloe's a Gift, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, F/M, Heaven, Hurt/Comfort, Lucifer Emotional Maturity, Lucifer Feels, Mutual Pining, Protective Lucifer, Resurrection, Return from Heaven, Romance, Sometimes updates on Wednesdays, Updates every Friday & Monday, tether
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:01:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 33
Words: 107,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26774065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junevirginia/pseuds/junevirginia
Summary: Chloe Decker died when Jimmy Barnes's bullet hit her in the heart, but it wasn't supposed to happen that way. Lucifer was supposed to save Chloe, but he couldn't. So, when God orders his sons to resurrect Chloe, Lucifer starts to feel protective about Chloe's transition back to Earth. They manage the resurrection, but now that Chloe's back on Earth, she feels disconnected. Disconnected from her family and her job. The one person who seems to understand is Lucifer, so she confides in him, takes comfort in him. Lucifer simply thought he was giving Chloe the chance to relive her life, but now, he's finding he's much more invested in how she chooses to live that life and if he might be a part of it.(Post 1x01)
Relationships: Chloe Decker & Lucifer Morningstar, Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar
Comments: 1116
Kudos: 844





	1. Oh good, a riddle.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, I am nervous.
> 
> This is my second work around these parts and I hope I do justice by the amazing Lucifans. If you haven't read my previous one-shot, I have been a Grey's Anatomy fanfic writer for years, but Lucifer has stolen my every thought, so I've found myself daydreaming stories. And this is the one I've come up with.
> 
> I love writing hurt/comfort with a heavy, HEAVY dose of romance. I love writing realistic love and realistic sex, so I look forward to sharing all those themes with you guys. 
> 
> I'm sure this story has been written before, but I'm taking a crack at it. I appreciate how welcoming this fandom is and I truly hope you like what I've written. If you feel like commenting, I'd love to hear from you! Thank you all for being the best.
> 
> -June
> 
> (Title is based on the song "Carry You" by Novo Amor.)

Lucifer Morningstar wakes to a mouth on his cock. “Lovely,” he moans, looking down at the brunette giving him such divine attention. _Grace_ , he thinks fondly, reaching down to thread his fingers through her hair, encouraging her. Her name suits her well; she certainly is graceful.

In the full-blown wake of the morning, Grace finally sleeps, but Lucifer pops out of bed. He slips on a fresh pair of Calvin Klein boxer briefs and his best black silk robe, trimmed in red, and walks down the few steps to his living room. His bar is backlit blue, illuminating his top shelf stash. He grabs his favorite scotch and pours himself at least $75 worth of booze. He throws back the first glass but savors the second.

He walks to his piano, his second—no third—indulgence after liquor and sex. Or sex and liquor, depending on the day. Although, unlike his vices, playing the piano fulfills him. His vices are fleeting, but music clings to the walls of his penthouse. It clings to _him_.

Lucifer strokes the G-Flat and then G-Sharp keys. He awaits inspiration, his glass of scotch resting atop his piano. When his life was full of darkness, closed door with souls behind them being tortured for the rest of eternity—demons bowing at his feet slovenly—Lucifer hummed to himself. He closed his eyes and could feel the cool porcelain piano keys beneath his fingertips. If all else fell away, nothing could stop the music.

He closes his eyes now, touches the keys, and the first few bars of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” fills the cold room, bursting it in colors.

Grace wakes to the sound of the piano, following the noise, nude, down to watch Lucifer. He acknowledges her with a smile, a raise of his eyebrows. “Missing me?” he purrs.

“Come back to bed,” she says, her voice sultry.

“Give me a moment, you vixen,” he grins at her and continues playing on.

In the afternoon, Grace must regrettably leave. Lucifer follows her downstairs to Lux, kissing her as she heads off into her day. Back into her life. Lucifer’s dressed now in an Italian wool suit, dark green, with a crisp white shirt and a heather gray pocket square. Maze stocks liquor behind the bar, doing the heavy lifting without complaint.

Lucifer signs off on some shipments before walking up to the bar—to Maze. “Mazikeen,” he says with a different sort of warmth. More familiar. “Seems like I missed quite the party. I was otherwise occupied,” he brags.

Lux is fairly trashed for a Wednesday night. It looks like there was a fight—or 15—with chairs tipped over, a few tables cracked or broken, and even one of the booths cut with a knife. Lucifer laughs at the destruction. “Ah, Tucker’s going to be unhappy with me. What’ll this be, the third time this month he’s had to come fix this furniture?”

“Fourth,” Maze corrects. 

“Maybe we should reinstall a cage for fighting, like the days before Lux was Lux. It’d save the furniture.” Lucifer leans against the bar, his left elbow propping him up as he looks over his domain. “A drink, Mazikeen.”

Maze pours him a scotch. “ _Please_ ,” she replies, setting the drink in front of him with a thud.

Lucifer regards Maze. Her eyes are narrowed—two angry slivers. “Yes?” Lucifer asks, oblivious. “Please, what?”

“‘A drink, Mazikeen,’” she mocks in a terrible English accent, “ _please_.”

“Ah!” Lucifer holds the glass in his hand, tipping it towards his lips. He points to her with the same hand before indulging. “I see. I didn’t know you were so sensitive about human pleasantries, my Maze.” He stands up, adjusts his lapels, and says, “In that case, _thank you_ my darling Maze for the drink, which I pay you to pour.”

Maze throws the damp rag she’s been using to clean off the glasses at Lucifer, which he catches with a laugh. “You’re a dick.”

“Yes, well, you know I appreciate you. You’re my very favorite demon.” He flashes her a wide grin, but his charms don’t work on her.

She narrows her eyes again but moves on from the conversation to bring the subject back around to Lux’s current state. “I’ll call Tucker to get him out here today. _You_ need to talk to your security team. They barely did anything as those two guys went at it, not that I’m complaining. The fighting part was _fun_. If only they’d stabbed each other and not the booth.”

Lucifer finishes his drink and sets down his glass for a refill. Maze doesn’t move a muscle until Lucifer says, “ _Please_.” After she pours one out, Lucifer walks into the destruction. He touches the slice in the booth and kicks part of a chair away. “I’m not kidding about installing a cage. Could be fun…for other things.”

Maze laughs. 

The afternoon begins to shift into the evening and during that time, Tucker fixes the tables, chairs, and booth from last night’s debacle. Lucifer pays him double for his time and quick work. 

By eight, Lux is just starting to warrant a line outside, the bowels of the club filling in with the most beautiful people in the city. Lucifer’s changed into an exquisite black suit with a red pocket square. He stands along the bannister at the top of the stairs and looks down, watching as his patrons dance and sing, filling themselves to the brink with $14 cocktails.

He feels a hand on his shoulder, turning to greet a woman he knows—a local business owner who flirts with him from time-to-time. He grins wide and wraps his arm around her waist. The night is already looking up.

Lucifer is dancing against the woman, whom he remembers is named Kara, her lithe body pressed against him. His cock stirs in his pants as his lips pepper kisses along her neck. She tastes of salt from the sweat of dancing and something crisp like apple. _Forbidden fruit_ , he thinks, laughing to himself. Kara turns in his arms to face him. She runs her hand across his crotch. “I hear you have a penthouse upstairs,” she practically moans into his ear.

“I do. Shall we—”

Time slows to a crawl. Kara’s eyes glaze over as she barely moves. The music practically stops, becoming more like a whining sound than anything pleasant. The lights hover. And Lucifer groans, but not in the way he’d like to be groaning.

“Amenadiel,” Lucifer says through his teeth, forcing himself to smile.

He turns to Amenadiel, who stands beside the bar in his robes. He’s already tucked his wings away, but he still manages to fill the space with just his presence alone. He looks at Lucifer with a hint of contempt. 

Lucifer steps away from Kara, gazing down her body and hoping his brother doesn’t spoil the mood for too long. “Ruining the fun as always, brother. What is it this time? Is Hell quaking from my absence? Is Father, once again, plotting for you to rough me up to get me back on my throne? Hmm?” Lucifer crosses the crowded dance floor to stand near his brother. 

Maze knowingly sets out another drink for Lucifer. He winks to convey his appreciation.

“Something has changed,” Amenadiel says cryptically.

“Oh good, a riddle.” Lucifer leans close to his brother. “Do you see that woman there?” He points to Kara with her long blond hair, her lips parted into a smile, her hand hovering in a southerly region—where Lucifer was standing just a moment ago. “I was planning on having sex with her. Do you know what sex is?” Amenadiel doesn’t play Lucifer’s game. “Anyway, I’d very much like to go back to my plans and you can just prattle on—”

“It’s about Chloe Decker.”

_Gunshots. One. Two. Gasping. “Chloe,” he’d said, leaning over her. Her eyes wide. Blood splatting the front of her. He reached to cup the side of her to head to comfort her. She was so warm, so alive. Her hair silky between his fingers. But she was struggling to breathe. A fear he’d not seen in years in her eyes._

__

_“I don’t want to die,” she’d said weakly._

__

_“I won’t let you.” A promise. “My father will just have to wait for you.”_

But he hadn’t been able to save her. 

Chloe Jane Decker had died on January 25, 2016.

Lucifer focuses on his drink. He lifts the glass and swirls the caramel-colored liquid. Amenadiel waits for recognition, interest in Chloe, but Lucifer purposely shuts down. 

Losing Chloe…felt personal. Watching the life bleed from her body, the light drain from her eyes, it had consequences. And not just for her loved ones. While Dan held a crying Trixie in his arms at the hospital, Lucifer had felt a chill in his bones. Her life mattered. _She_ mattered and she was just gone. 

In the few days he’d known Chloe, Lucifer had become fascinated by her. For one, because his mojo didn’t work on her. He couldn’t _compel_ her to tell her secrets, as it were. But more importantly, she had so much heart. Conviction. She was _good_ and tough as a cop, but loving and gentle with her daughter. Lucifer hadn’t spent that much time with a human with their clothes still on, so learning about Chloe Decker had intrigued him.

“Luci,” Amenadiel says, interrupting the hurricane spinning inside Lucifer’s head.

Lucifer polishes off his drink, setting the glass back down onto the bar top. He reaches out and claps Amenadiel’s shoulder. “Brother, she was like any other human who is now dead. I’d wager she’s up in Heaven. There’s nothing to discuss.” Lucifer tugs on his lapels and turns away. “Now, let’s get this party restarted.”

He takes one step before Amenadiel says, “She’s being resurrected as we speak.”

Lucifer stops. His heart stops, but just for a millisecond. He balls his hands into fists. “What?” he asks into the void of the room. 

Amenadiel steps closer, still talking to Lucifer’s back. “Michael has been tasked to bring her back. She shouldn’t have died. You were supposed to save her.”

“Well I couldn’t save her, could I?” Lucifer erupts, turning to Amenadiel. “She was shot in the heart, brother, which for humans, means death. Almost instant death. One moment she was there and the next gone. What was I supposed to do?”

“Nothing, Luci,” Amenadiel says softly. He holds Lucifer’s shoulder, trying to draw his brother back to him. “It was a mistake. A cosmic blip. Jimmy Barnes was supposed to hit her in the shoulder in the first shot and miss on the second, but something shifted.”

Lucifer’s still breathing heavily from his outburst. “What shifted?” he asks, clipped and short.

“We don’t know,” Amenadiel admits. 

_A cosmic blip_ , Lucifer repeats in his head. His father is responsible for the cosmos, just as he’s responsible for everything on Earth. There’s no such thing as a blip not created by dear old Dad. Lucifer steps out of Amenadiel’s touch. “It’ll happen again,” he decides.

“We don’t know that.”

“Dad does!” Lucifer yells, motioning to the heavens. “You think anything that goes on here on Earth wasn’t orchestrated by Him? He’s all-knowing. All-powerful. If a human dies, it’s because _Father_ decided it was their time!” He considers Chloe’s death. The timing—having just met each other days before. “It’s a manipulation,” Lucifer says quietly now.

Amenadiel shakes his head. “It’s not.”

“How would you know? I’ve been manipulated by Dad for eons. You…no. You’re the good son. He tells you to jump and you jump into the next galaxy.” Lucifer drags his hand down his face. “He wants something from me.”

“No. He wants to right a wrong.”

Lucifer chuckles humorlessly.

Amenadiel continues. “Chloe’s death was in error. Azrael took her—you saw—but she wasn’t supposed to.” Lucifer remembers watching his sister descend onto the scene. The chaos of the moment as Chloe’s fellow officers tried to revive her. Dan pushing everyone away to get to her, but Azrael just hovered. She didn’t even acknowledge Lucifer. She raised her hands and the last trace of light left Chloe’s body.

“Michael should’ve been there,” Amenadiel continues. “But he never received the call. The error was only caught when Chloe arrived in Heaven.” 

Lucifer looks faraway, lost in thought. It’s too many coincidences. He tells Amenadiel so, “‘ _A cosmic blip_ ,’” he now repeats aloud. “Michael never received the call. Brother, this is classic manipulation. Father set these actions in motion. He had Chloe shot, had the bullets hit her in the heart, and blocked the call to Michael. Now, he’s sent you to tell me Michael is bringing her back, but there’s a price, Amenadiel. There is _always_ a price to Dad’s divinity.”

“He might be right,” Maze says, having listened to every word carefully. “Your Dad is a dick.”

Lucifer grins a bit and Maze grins back. She’s cut through the tension expertly. Lucifer can think now. He knows he’s right. His father doesn’t just resurrect someone for fun. There’s always a reason. 

But…the thought that the world will regain someone like Chloe Decker is…comforting. 

With a sigh, Lucifer says, “I am glad Chloe will be restored, but…I’ll have no part in her life. If our father is going to use a human’s death and resurrection against me, I’m not participating.”

“Father doesn’t expect anything from you,” Amenadiel says. “I just thought you should know.”

Lucifer waves his hand. “Well, I do. Now, you can go. I have a party to get back to.”

He returns to Kara, taking her by the hip again just as Amenadiel restarts time. They pick up where they left off and Lucifer escorts her upstairs. Amenadiel is long gone. Lucifer pushes any thoughts of his brother from his head, which is easy to do when Kara presses up against him. It isn’t until much later, when Kara is asleep by his side—a gymnast that one, bendy in all the right ways—that Lucifer begins thinking.

He climbs from his bed in the nude and walks down to his bar. His hand reaches for a bottle, but he stops himself, hovering over the neck of the bottle. He sees Chloe. Her soft, blonde hair, her bright blue eyes. Her smile, a rarity, but a gift each time. Lucifer can smell the lemon and mint scent of her that she dragged everywhere. She was…special.

Lucifer finally pours a drink and walks out onto his balcony, his very favorite spot in all of existence. He sips his drink and wonders if Michael has brought Chloe back yet. Lucifer’s only attended one resurrection before. No, not the one you’re thinking. It was a boy in the 16th century. Lucifer happened to be in the English countryside for a bit of a romp when he felt Michael’s presence. Lucifer ended up on the scene of a drowning.

Michael stood over the boy, his gray feathers surrounding the child. Lucifer didn’t interrupt, but watched as his brother mumbled under his breath, his wings cradling the child, but his hands rested on the boy’s chest. A light, purer than anything Lucifer had ever seen, wrapped around the boy, settling into him. 

It seemed like time had stopped. Michael’s eyes were closed and he’d stopped mumbling, but the boy wasn’t moving. The light was gone and the boy appeared simply dead. At one-point Lucifer had felt slighted that his power was to pull out desire when his brother could resurrect the dead, but seeing it first-hand, it seemed like a faulty power. Something that could work, but could also not work. As was the case currently.

But then it happened. The boy took a breath.

Michael set him back onto the ground and left. He never acknowledged Lucifer. 

The boy became a fascination of Lucifer’s. He expected something else to get him. A lightening strike. Trampled by a cow, maybe. Killed in a battle. But no. The boy grew to be a man. 

Many years later, Lucifer revisited the man, meeting him at an inn in Stratford-upon-Avon. The man’s hands were stained in ink. He drank liquor by the mouthful. He was writing something when Lucifer sat down beside him. The man turned to look at him and it’s as if he truly saw who Lucifer was. Or maybe, he thought he was Michael. Either way, the man stared at Lucifer and introduced himself, “William Shakespeare,” he’d said.

Lucifer takes another sip of his scotch. He should be back in bed with Kara. He should wake her up for round two. She wouldn’t mind. But he can’t because he can’t stop thinking about Chloe. If she’s back, she’s going to have questions. Questions Michael will never answer. He’s the resurrect and run kind of guy. But Chloe is a seeker of answers and not knowing will plague her.

He finishes his drink and walks back into his penthouse. He pulls on a pair of boxer briefs and his suit pants. He pulls on his shirt from earlier. Lucifer lays his hand on Kara’s slumbering body, touching her shoulder. She blinks a few times and smiles when she settles her gaze on his face. “Hi,” she says seductively.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

“Oh,” she says, immediately changing from seductress to any-other-woman-being-kicked-out-a-bed-at-night. She sits up, holding the sheets and comforter around her body.

“I am sorry, dear,” he says. “But I have an important matter to attend to. But I did have a very good time. You, my dear, are a temptress.” He leans down to kiss her, reassure her, and Kara blossoms, returning his kiss passionately.

Lucifer pulls back. “I hate to rush you along…”

Kara stands. “It’s okay,” she says, now full of confidence. She redresses as Lucifer finishes buttoning his shirt and adding his cufflinks.

He walks Kara to the elevator, where they share one last kiss. He’d promise her another evening, a longer one, but it’d be an empty promise. Lucifer can count on one hand the men or women he’s invited into his bed more than once. As the elevator doors close, Lucifer attempts to channel Michael. His bond with Michael is stronger than with his other siblings. It’s the twin thing. He channels through thoughts and feelings, digging deep, but where Michael should be is a void.

Lucifer grabs his suit jacket. If he can’t find Michael, this whole adventure is moot, but a good place to start is Chloe’s grave. She’s been dead a week, buried three days, but he’d need her body. Lucifer tries again. He hates searching for Michael. The feeling of his twin brother inside his head always makes Lucifer feel…off. But it keeps searching.

Nothing.

Lucifer grabs his keys to his Corvette, but the sound of the unfurling of wings stops him. He turns to find Amenadiel standing in the middle of his living room.

“Brother, I thought you’d be—”

“We need your help, Lucifer,” Amenadiel says.

“‘ _We?_ ’”

“Michael and I. He…he’s having trouble bringing Chloe back.”

Lucifer runs through all the possible complications, but none of them matter. If Chloe can’t be resurrected, the hope that seems to be blooming in his chest will just wither and die. He wants to help, but the Devil isn’t really known for helping good souls. “What help could I be?”

“There’s something I need to tell you. About Chloe. About _you_ and Chloe.”

He gets a bad feeling. Even so, Lucifer says, “Spill.”


	2. I will not allow you to carry me like a baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am incredibly thankful for how well-received the first chapter was. I am glad you're excited and I appreciate every comment and every kudo. I was a writing machine this weekend and I am so excited for where this story is headed.
> 
> If you enjoy what I'm doing, I'd love to hear from you! I answer all comments.
> 
> Enjoy!

Lucifer sits on his couch staring at the ceiling. He has one leg crossed over the other and a glass of scotch in hand. Amenadiel stands near the piano, arms crossed over his chest.

“Brother, we have to leave. Michael is waiting.”

“I…” Lucifer begins, but continues to stare at the ceiling. “I keep thinking Father will just leave me alone. He cast me out, after all, so he has no say in my life. And yet, the bastard _keeps_ returning. Keeps manipulating me.”

“It’s not a manipulation, Luci.”

“Isn’t it? Isn’t it the ultimate manipulation?” Lucifer stands. “Father sent you down from Heaven to bless a couple with a child. A child who grew up to be Chloe Decker. And Father put her in my path. And for what? He’s using me and he’s using the Detective! That sounds like textbook manipulation to me, brother. And if you tell me it’s not manipulation one more time, I will grab you by the balls and have Maze rip off your wings.”

Amenadiel doesn’t flinch at Lucifer’s threat. He’s been listening to similar threats from his brother for eons. “I told you; Chloe is a _gift_.”

Lucifer shatters the glass in his hand. He shakes off the scotch. “How is a human a gift? If Father thinks I’m having trouble getting laid—”

“This isn’t about sex.”

“Even worse,” Lucifer complains. “So, you’re telling me this whole thing is boring.” He walks over the broken glass to the bar to grab an intact one. “Look, you and Michael have fun doing your little witchcraft. I thought I’d attend the resurrection, see if Michael can _not_ screw this one up, but it looks like he already has.” Lucifer raises his glass to his lips. “I am officially tapping out. The Detective is not my problem.”

Amenadiel sighs, realigns his thinking. Lucifer is always frustrating, but he’s even worse when their father is involved. Amenadiel gives him a moment. Lucifer sits heavily upon his piano bench. He touches the keys softly, barely creating a sound. He finds solace in his piano, so he begins to calm. Even so, Amenadiel gives him time.

Lucifer fiddles with his piano, not really playing anything with any conviction. He just fills the room with notes. Sounds to drown out his thinking. His father is the ultimate manipulator. It goes back to the beginning. The snake and the apple and Eve. If his father didn’t want Eve to be tempted, He never would’ve allowed Lucifer into the Garden of Eden. It was God’s doing. God never would’ve given him the power of seduction if he wasn’t meant to _seduce_. God plots and schemes and then when you fulfill His prophecy, He punishes you.

Chloe is another part of God’s plot and Lucifer wants nothing to do with Him or her.

Eventually, Amenadiel needs to get them back on task. Michael won’t wait forever and the longer they wait to resurrect Chloe, the harder it’ll be. “Luci,” Amenadiel says gently. He touches his brother’s shoulder and thankfully, Lucifer doesn’t pull away. “This isn’t just about you. Chloe’s a mother. A wife. She’s a police detective trying to protect her community. She deserves the chance to restore her life.”

When Lucifer doesn’t respond, Amenadiel continues. “You’re connected to her. You’re a tether. An anchor and Michael believes your connection to Chloe will bring her back. But you need to be physically present.”

Lucifer strokes the B-sharp on his piano. “Separated,” he says.

“What?”

“Chloe and Dan _the Douche_ are separated.”

Amenadiel smiles a little at Lucifer’s priorities. 

“This tether,” Lucifer continues, “is it because of the _gift_?”

He looks up at his brother. Amenadiel softens his gaze. “I don’t know,” he says honestly. “But, if I had to make a guess, then yes. It would make sense.” Amenadiel leans against the piano, clasping his hands in front of himself, almost in prayer. “Look, I can’t tell you why Father chose Chloe—or any human, really—to be your gift. But you’ll never know the answer if you don’t bring her back. Think of Chloe. Think of her daughter.”

Lucifer’s hands ball into fists. “Don’t use the child against me.” Lucifer would never admit his slight affinity for Chloe’s offspring.

“If there’s nothing I can say, then I’ll go. Maybe Michael and I can figure something else out.”

Amenadiel unfurls his wings and heads for Lucifer’s balcony. Lucifer considers life and death. The unfairness of an unlived life and the unfairness of a beloved life cut short. Chloe’s death is a lot of things—tragic, painful, unkind, premature—but mostly, unfair. She deserves better than her body rotting away in a box, only to have flowers left by her child.

Lucifer sighs and calls after Amenadiel. “Put your wings away.”

“Why?” he asks, but does as his brother asks.

“I’m going with you,” Lucifer says and stands from the piano. “But we’re taking my car because I _will not_ allow you to carry me like a baby.”

Amenadiel grins. “Fair enough.”

* * *

The Detective is buried in a government cemetery for police, fire, and emergency medical personnel. Lucifer drives slowly through the paved path snaking through the cemetery, following Amenadiel’s directions. However, it’s easy to find where Chloe is buried because Michael sticks out like a sore thumb. And also, her grave has been dug.

Lucifer steps out of his car and feels a suspicious tightness in his chest. He looks at the headstone, which hasn’t even been etched yet. There’s a simple card adhered to the headstone with her name on it. Someone’s scribbled out her name rather carelessly. Lucifer notices the flowers and stuffed animals set aside, which probably covered her fresh grave. He can imagine Trixie laying out the animals—her comforts become her mom’s comforts in Heaven.

He takes a shaky breath.

Michael stands, adjusting his jacket. The grave has been completely dug out and the coffin is open. Lucifer hangs back. He’s not afraid of dead bodies, and he’s not afraid of this one, but something keeps him from moving closer.

“You’re finally here. I see you got over yourself.”

“Michael,” Amenadiel warns. He looks to Lucifer, who pulls a flask from his breast pocket.

Michael rolls his eyes and returns to trying to resurrect Chloe on his own. It’s an easy process, usually. A little hands above the body, a few choice words, a beam of light, and they’re as spry as the moment before death. But Chloe Decker is proving difficult.

“What do you need from Lucifer?” Amenadiel asks, trying to get this all over with. They still have the cover of night, but soon enough the sun will rise and they’ll just be three men snatching a body.

“Just…stand over here,” Michael motions to the other side of the grave.

Lucifer downs the rest of his scotch. He walks slowly towards the grave and looks in as he approaches. Chloe looks…the same. Paler, of course. Less…luminous. But she’s still her. Her hands are folded over her lower stomach. She’s wearing something she might wear to a crime scene—black jeans, boots, a white t-shirt, and a light leather jacket. On her hip is her badge. Her hair is down along her shoulders and if Lucifer didn’t know any better, he might think she were sleeping.

Michael grows frustrated with Lucifer’s vigil. “She’s be alive in no time if you’d just stand where I asked you.”

Lucifer thinks about the moment William came back from the dead. It took just seconds. His eyes opened and he was back. But he was alongside the lake, not stuffed inside a box. Not a week dead. “How long will it take her to come back?” he asks.

“It’s different for everyone,” Michael admits. “But I’d say maybe ten minutes.”

“She can’t wake up here,” Lucifer says.

Amenadiel steps forward. “Why not?”

“This is a grave. _Her_ grave. If she wakes up here…” Lucifer shakes his head. Imagining the fear. The confusion. The cruelty of Chloe waking up in her own grave. “No. We need to move her somewhere else.”

Michael rolls his eyes. “Really, brother? It doesn’t matter.”

“It does,” Lucifer seethes. “She deserves somewhere quiet and comfortable, not some hole in the ground. Is this what you do, brother? You raise the dead, but let them climb six feet out to their freedom?”

“Since when did you start caring about human lives, Luci?” Michael taunts him.

Lucifer balls his hands into fists. “Don’t call me that. You asked for my help with your very important task. I am offering you help. We have to move her.”

“Where would you suggest?”

Lucifer doesn’t know Chloe well enough to know where she’d want to be resurrected. To be fair, there are very few beings in the world that he’d know where they might want to be resurrected. He thinks of her home, maybe, but he’s not sure where she lived. Plus, maybe her daughter is still there and that would be…bad. 

If he needs somewhere quiet, comfortable, his penthouse comes to mind. Lux is quiet at this hour and Chloe could at least wake up on a couch rather than a stuffy coffin.

“Amenadiel,” Lucifer says, almost helplessly. “I need…”

“What? Anything, brother.”

“I need you to drive.”

Amenadiel gives Lucifer a look. Lucifer climbs into the grave, holding his breath as he goes. There’s no odor; she hasn’t been dead long enough, but the idea of disturbing her body doesn’t sit well. Lucifer bends down over the casket. He swallows away the thumping of his heart. Above him, Michael makes some snide comment, but Lucifer ignores him.

Her reaches down, lifting Chloe by the back of her knees, holding her back in his other hand. She’s practically weightless in his arms. He can smell…formaldehyde, but ignores its faintness. He leaps from inside her grave and carries her gingerly over to the car. Lucifer climbs into the passenger seat, ignoring the horror of having just body snatched Chloe from her grave, and tucks her legs in to be sure they don’t get caught in the door. Amenadiel sits in the driver’s seat, turning over the engine.

Michael hesitates. “This is ridiculous,” be bemoans.

“This is how it is,” Amenadiel says.

Michael sighs. “I’ll find my own way to Lucifer’s penthouse, I assume.” Lucifer simply nods. “I’ll be waiting for you.” And he takes off.

Lucifer looks down at Chloe. Her stillness. Her pallor. She is dead. Very dead. No breath, no blood, not brain activity. He tentatively reaches down and touches where the bullet hit her. Smashing her sternum and hitting her heart. It was more of a nick, he believed, because she had enough time to worry about her death. He had enough time to make a promise he couldn’t keep.

He can feel the spot the bullet hit. The puckered skin, the angry evidence of her death.

When he looks up, Amenadiel is glancing at Lucifer.

“Drive.”

Amenadiel hits the gas pedal.

Lucifer looks ahead as they drive, not able to look down at her. Los Angeles is still alive in the middle of the night: bright lights, people in the streets, music. Lucifer loves all those things, but he’s feeling a bit of an existential crisis coming on. He is holding a dead body against his chest, after all.

When they reach Lux, Amenadiel pulls into the parking garage and Lucifer lifts Chloe up and out of the car. They take the elevator upstairs and as promised, Michael is already waiting inside, looking just as surly as before. Lucifer crosses the room and sets Chloe onto the leather couch.

“Now what?” Amenadiel asks.

“Hold her hand,” Michael tells Lucifer.

It’s the least creepy thing he’s done today, so Lucifer sits down onto the coffee table next to Chloe and takes her hand. He leans over until his elbows are on his knees. Once again, he could pretend she’s just sleeping, if not for her freezing cold hand in his.

Michael stands over Chloe, too close to Lucifer for his liking, but this is Michael’s show, not his. Michael speaks the divine language under his breath. He holds out his hands and keeps chattering away. Lucifer tries to focus on the memories of Chloe alive. The first one that arises is when he and Chloe made a detour at Trixie’s school. They were standing outside the school and Chloe kneeled down to congratulate Trixie for standing up for herself.

Lucifer’s seen many parents dealing with their children, but Chloe’s take on her daughter’s outburst was refreshing. She didn’t scold the little urchin. Didn’t tell her it wasn’t nice to fight back. _Rise above_ , and all that nonsense. No. Chloe told her daughter she’d done the right thing by fighting back. It was…lovely to see the bond between them.

Michael’s sigh interrupts the memory. “It isn’t working.”

“Try harder,” Lucifer says.

“It’s not something I can do.”

“Father wouldn’t give you a task you can’t complete,” Amenadiel says. “We need to think outside the box. You thought Lucifer’s proximity would be enough.”

“And I’m wrong, obviously. It isn’t about the tether, or whatever.” Michael shakes his head. “Maybe she’s one who just can’t be resurrected.”

“That happens?”

“Never before.”

Lucifer stares at Chloe. They’ve dug her out of her grave. They’ve disturbed her resting place. Lucifer picked her up, removed her from the spot blessed by divinity. Two angels and the Devil, ripping her from her eternal rest. 

His stomach turns. 

But Amenadiel is right. She deserves hope. She deserves time with her daughter. It isn’t too late.

“Try again,” Lucifer says.

Michael looks down on his twin brother. “I don’t know what you think I can do. I’ve been trying for hours. She is dead.” He looks to Amenadiel. “We should put her back in her grave before morning. Less questions to answer.”

Lucifer stands and his brothers look at him. “ _No_.”

“You didn’t even want to do this earlier,” Michael reminds him. “She’s just a human.”

Lucifer closes the space between himself and Michael and takes him by the lapels of his jacket. He pushes Michael against one of the support beams holding up the ceiling. The beam rattles. “You started this mess and you’re going to finish it. You’ll bring her back.”

Michael pushes Lucifer off. “I can’t!”

Lucifer takes a swing and connects with Michael’s jaw. His brother’s head moves dramatically to the side as he takes the punch. He turns back quickly and socks Lucifer right in the nose. Instantly, Lucifer is bleeding. He wipes away the blood with the back of his hand.

Amenadiel steps forward. “Brothers!”

Lucifer throws out a punch to Michael’s gut, sending him halfway across the penthouse. He grins as Michael lands in a heaving pile. “You wield your power like a weapon, brother,” Lucifer says as he follows Michael trajectory. “You aren’t bringing Chloe back because now you know I want her to come back.”

Michael pushes himself to his feet. “Why do you care?”

“Because there was hope!” Lucifer moves to punch Michael again, but he ducks the hit and punches Lucifer in the side of the head.

“You sound like a human. ‘Hope,’” Michael mocks.

Lucifer shakes off Michael’s punch. “You have a job to do. A duty. Bring Chloe Decker back from the dead and you’re failing.”

“Maybe you’re the one failing, Luci. Amenadiel called you the tether, but maybe you’re nothing more than _the Devil_. A punisher. Lightbringer no more. Evil.”

Lucifer delivers a right hook into Michael’s face, making him stumble back. Amenadiel gets between his two brothers, pushing Lucifer back. Lucifer’s chest is heaving. His eyes flare red. He can feel his anger rising.

Amenadiel takes Lucifer’s face in his hands, making him focus. “Stop it. He’s just trying to get a rise out of you. We need to work together.”

“I’ll kill him,” Lucifer seethes.

Michael laughs, wiping blood from his mouth. “I’d like to see you try.”

Lucifer tries to advance on Michael again, but Amenadiel holds him back. “This isn’t about him,” he reminds Lucifer. “This is about Chloe. We have a chance to rewrite the wrongs that lead to her death, but we can’t do that if you kill the one being who can resurrect her.” Lucifer’s anger slips away and his eyes return to normal. Amenadiel drops his grip. “Now think. We have to think,” he says, turning to Michael, but Michael is across the room, leaning down next to Chloe.

“What the bloody hell are you—” Lucifer begins, rushing over to stop Michael.

But then he sees it.

Two points of light on her chest, as if the light is streaming out of her. Michael holds his hands over Chloe’s body.

“I don’t…” Lucifer begins and shakes his head.

Amenadiel looks between Chloe and Lucifer. “The blood. _Your_ blood.” He points out the two pinpoints of light and sure enough, there are two ragged rings around the beams—two dark red spots on her previously clean shirt.

Lucifer watches as Michael closes his eyes and begins speaking again. Last time, the body was so new, so it took seconds, but Michael mumbles to himself for a few minutes. The two pinpoints of light widen, as if the light inside her needs to burst out. Soon enough, the whole room is bathed in a heavenly glow. Michael’s chanting is louder now and Lucifer can follow along.

Michael asks for a blessing. For mortality to be restored. To bring God’s child back into this body. He pleads and begs, something Lucifer doesn’t hear often enough, and eventually, the light dissipates. Michael steps back. 

The color has returned to her cheeks—soft pink. Her skin is no longer sallow, but pale and soft-looking. She’s luminous again. Her chest rises and falls slowly. Very slowly as she begins to reanimate. Lucifer takes Michael’s place, sitting back down on the coffee table to be nearer to her. He takes her hand and she’s warm, once again. Lucifer listens close and he can hear her heart beating, slowly at first, but then faster.

Michael leaves without a word, but Amenadiel stays. He watches Chloe like the miracle she is.

Lucifer watches her face, her eyes shifting beneath her eyelids. She’s almost there. Almost here.

He squeezes her hand so she knows she’s not alone.

And then, after another few seconds, she opens her eyes.


	3. Seeing is believing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The response to this story has been so genuine and uplifting. I love that you're enjoying what I'm writing.
> 
> Because you've all been so kind, I'm posting again this week. Next update on Friday.
> 
> I live in the comments, so please feel free to leave a comment!

Heaven is Trixie’s laugh.

Chloe watches the memory unfold like a movie. Earlier in the spring, Chloe took Trixie on a day trip to La Jolla to see the sea lions sunbathing on the rocks. Trixie dressed in a shark t-shirt and wouldn’t stop snapping her teeth at Chloe like a shark. Chloe tied Trixie’s hair into a high ponytail and called it her dorsal fin. Trixie held up her ponytail each time she chomped her teeth at her mom.

The two of them held hands as they walked down the hill towards the beach. Chloe had to practically hold Trixie back because she was so excited.

“Did you know sea lions sleep twelve hours a day?” Trixie’d asked.

She lost one of her front teeth—the other one loose—so all her words came out with a lisp. Despite investigating bodies and crime scenes all day, Chloe was never good with the loose teeth thing, so Dan would be the one to help Trixie with her next tooth. Trixie tongued her tooth, wiggling it, which made Chloe shiver with discomfort.

“Eh, Trixella, you know I can’t stand that.”

“I know,” she said gleefully.

They made it to the sidewalk which wrapped along the ocean. Up ahead, a group of people gathered, the rocks below seeming to move. Chloe picked up her pace and Trixie practically ran beside her. The overlook on the sea lions was a curved low stone wall with a ten foot drop down to the animals below. Chloe helped Trixie stand on the wall, holding her daughter around the middle, her hand pressed against her stomach.

Trixie’s eyes darted everywhere, unable to take in the scene all at once. There were a couple of dozen sea lions laying in the sun, the ocean rising up and spraying them every few moments. But they didn’t seem to mind. They’d roll slowly, using a flipper to scratch at some unseen itch, barking when one of their compatriots got too close.

“What do you think they’re thinking about?” Chloe asked Trixie because she loved hearing her daughter’s musings.

“Pie,” she said with certainty.

Chloe laughed, tipping her head back. “Pie?” she questioned, tickling Trixie’s middle to hear her giggle. “What kind of pie?”

Trixie took the time to think before deciding on, “Cherry. Blueberry!” she said just as quickly.

“Are you sure _you’re_ not the one who wants cherry pie? Or blueberry pie?”

“Blueberry,” Trixie had said, with a firm nod of her head.

They stood watching the sea lions for longer, but Chloe can’t see it as well. It’s like everything is covered in a thin film. There are holes, moments she can relive—like the one with Trixie—but then it’s covered again and all the voices sound like she’s underwater and no one is reaching to pull her out. But she can still feel the warmth of the memory. The warmth of the sun on her skin, her daughter’s hand in hers. She can even taste the bright, tart blueberry pie they indulged on later, but she can’t see it.

Eventually, the memory is gone and after a moment, Chloe’s not even sure what she was remembering.

Heaven is not a place for memories. It’s where you go for someone to remember you, but Chloe’s learned that her memories are fleeting here. Whispers in her ear that dissipate as soon as they get too close. It’s frustrating. She thought she’d be able to look down and watch Trixie, but that’s not her experience.

She thinks she might be doing something wrong. But there’s no manual. No one greeted her at the gates. There were no gates. One moment she was being carried and the next she was here. It’s not all bad. In fact, it’s sort of lovely. Quiet. Everything is soft. She feels no pain, no little aches. She doesn’t even get itchy or thirsty. She’s just surrounded by warmth and comfort. 

But she aches for moments from the past.

Chloe closes her eyes and she feels something inside her. It feels…off. She hasn’t felt anything in her being in a while now. Days…weeks…months. Who could know? But she feels it. It feels like a burning. Like a cord inside her body is burning and tugging her. The tug is gentle at first. A nagging feeling. Repetitive. She reaches down, as if she can touch it, but she can’t touch anything. She has no touch.

The tugging becomes more noticeable. She hears a voice. She thinks it’s another floating memory, but she sees nothing. The voice is quiet, too quiet to truly hear. Deep. Maybe concerned. Maybe she hears her name, but maybe not.

She’s so distracted by the tugging, she can’t think. 

Chloe sees a flash of light bright enough to wash out everything around her. She looks down and she sees her legs. Her hands turning at the wrist. _Her_ hands. She flexes her fingers. She reaches up and she touches her face. Her skin. The heat beneath her skin. 

“But…” her voice says, sounding like a bell ringing in the distance.

And suddenly she’s gone. 

The warmth from before is gone. The comfort gone. 

Chloe opens her eyes and stares up at a tall ceiling. Two stories, maybe. Industrial. She can smell something warm and rich. Caramel. Leather. Beneath her hands, she feels something slick—not wet—and smooth. Soft. Cushion-y. Her mouth tastes off. Like something has been rolling around in her stomach for days. She swallows a few times to push the taste away. Chloe hears voices. The voice from before. Low and quiet next to her.

She turns her head and her eyes focus on a face. His head is cocked to the side, his eyes soften as she meets his gaze. His lips are moving, but nothing’s clear, so she just blinks slowly, watching him. He’s familiar. He grins and a memory hits her like a brick.

The bullet tearing through her. Throwing her back. Gasping for breath, but nothing comes. Every movement hurts, making her dizzy and nauseous. _His_ face comes into view. Concerned, looking down on her. He winces and leaves her and she has time to worry. Really worry. Because she knows she’s been shot. The warmth on her chest and beneath her tells her it wasn’t an inconsequential bullet either. She’s really hurt.

He returns to her view, holding the side of her head. She says something and then he does, but…she can only focus on the pain. His eyes go wide. His hands pressing against her chest. She just wants to tell him to stop. She just wants to…

Chloe uses her legs to push herself back, away from him. He reaches for her and she moves even further back, squishing herself into the corner of a couch. A leather couch, which explains the smell and feeling beneath her hands. He lowers his hands and turns his head and Chloe notices the other man. A man who isn’t familiar. He stares at her and she feels a similar warmth from before. 

The second man speaks, but she can’t hear.

She swallows again and the first man gets up. Walks away from her. She watches him and watches his movements. His lithe body, tall and lean, as he walks over to pour a drink. Suddenly, she feels so thirsty. She licks her lips and as he looks back over at her, she remembers.

“Lucifer,” she says quietly.

His eyes go wide. He walks back towards her and she relaxes some. “Chloe,” he says and she can hear him. He’s cautious as he approaches, holding the glass in his hand out to her.

“Do you think alcohol is really the answer?” the other man asks and she can hear him now.

She takes the glass and then her eyes cut to the second man. She doesn’t care if Lucifer had handed her a glass of urine. She’s _that_ thirsty. She holds the glass to her lips and feels the sting of bourbon on her tongue, setting her throat on fire. But it’s the first thing she’s truly felt inside her body in…some time and she relishes in the slight pain.

“I think alcohol is the _only_ answer right now.”

Lucifer’s hand appears before her and she startles. He pulls back, raising both his hands in surrender. “Sorry,” he says. “Do you want more?”

Chloe simply nods.

As Lucifer steps away, the other man walks over to take his place. Chloe’s not afraid of him. He sits down smoothly and regards her. He gives her a brief, tender smile and she unfurls her legs. “I know you must be confused,” he says with a voice rich and friendly. “But you’re okay. You’re safe.” He presses his hand to his chest. “I’m Amenadiel.”

She watches his lips move. _Amenadiel_ , she repeats in her head, testing out his name before saying it aloud. His smile widens when she successfully repeats after him. She feels like a toddler. “I…” she begins. Lucifer reaches her and holds out two glasses, one with more bourbon—probably—and one of water. She takes them both.

They both wait or her, giving her time.

Her mind is like a minefield. She can’t step in one direction without having a thought there. And then she steps again and the second thought is gone, overtaken by the new one. She squeezes her eyes shut.

She feels one of the glasses leave her hand. She opens and eyes and looks for magic, but it’s simply Amenadiel taking the glass away, holding it in his own hands. He’s left her with the water. “I know this must be overwhelming.”

Chloe looks to Lucifer again and as soon as her eyes meet his, his concern melts away. He smiles for her, a tug on either side of his lips. No teeth showing, but the smile creeps all the way up to meet his eyes. He blinks a few times and just stares at her. 

“I’m…okay,” she says, maybe to herself or maybe to Lucifer and Amenadiel. 

Lucifer nods. “You’re safe,” he says, which isn’t the same thing. She feels safe, but realizing she’s okay is a totally different thing. Chloe remembers the gunshot. The bullet.

She looks down at her chest, the white t-shirt with two drops of blood. She touches them, but they only hold her attention for a moment. She reaches her free hand down her shirt, between her breasts, to feel across her sternum. Jimmy had landed the perfect shot, right in the middle of her chest. She remembers the sound of cracking bone. The bullet moved at 2,400 meters per second, knocking her back.

But her skin is unmarred. Smooth. She keeps looking though, just in case.

Amenadiel’s hand comes into her view and she looks at him. He doesn’t touch her, as if he thinks better of it. “You’ve been healed.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t…I’m confused.”

“I know and I want to tell you everything, but I don’t want to confuse you more.”

Chloe looks to Lucifer, who hovers near the end of the couch. She doesn’t understand how she got here. Where she is. And why Lucifer? They barely know each other. How is she back? Was she ever in Heaven? Was she dreaming?

Lucifer reaches out to her, but he doesn’t pull back like Amenadiel. He touches the back of her hand as it holds onto the glass. The angle is a little awkward, but it’s probably the safest place to touch her right now. She feels his warm fingers against her skin. “The thoughts will overwhelm you,” he tells her. “Just…let us explain and then any questions you have, we’ll answer.”

Chloe nods, entrusting these men.

“Do you remember what happened to you, Chloe?” Amenadiel asks.

She holds tightly to her glass of water with both hands now—resting the glass on top of her bent knees. Lucifer’s hand drops from her and he goes back to just standing, observing. “I was shot in Jimmy Barnes’s recording studio.” She looks at Lucifer. “You were there with me.”

He nods and looks away. “I was.”

“Do you know what happened to you afterwards?”

“Heaven.”

Amenadiel nods. “Good. Yes, you were in Heaven.”

“Why…” She looks over to Lucifer because she’s her only tether in this room to her life before. “Why am I back?” 

Lucifer holds her gaze, only breaking away for a moment to glance at Amenadiel. With a sigh and then a sip of his drink, Lucifer sits down on the arm at the opposite end of the couch. “You weren’t supposed to die.” He doesn’t look at her when he says this. “ _I_ was supposed to save you, not like I was privy to the plan. Dear old Dad would never—”

“Luci,” Amenadiel interrupts.

“Right.” Lucifer looks at her now. His eyes are so dark, rimmed with eyeliner on the bottom, giving him a mysterious look. “Detective, I told you when I first met you. I’m the Devil. And the only reason I’m hoping you’ll believe me this time is because you’ve been to Heaven. You were carried off by Azrael, our sister.” Lucifer motions to Amenadiel. “He’s my brother. Another angel,” he says casually.

 _I’m the Devil_ , he’d said.

Chloe’s eyes go wide.

“Maybe a bit too much, brother,” Amenadiel says.

“How are you supposed to explain everything without the foundation?” Lucifer asks, exasperated.

“I’m fine.” She says. She nods and laughs a little. Instantly, she feels more like herself. “It actually sort of makes sense, in some weird way.” She motions to Lucifer. “The debauchery. Drinking at the crime scene, the desire schtick.” She then motions to Amenadiel. “The calming voice, the overall patience. Goodness.”

Lucifer raises his eyebrows at her limited description of the two of them. “I’m patient,” he mumbles to himself.

Chloe thinks of Lucifer rushing to interrupt Jimmy Barnes’s wedding and then basically barging into 2Vile’s home; he is definitely not patient.

“So…angels…God…the Devil. It all exists,” she says, trying to wrap it all with a tight bow.

Amenadiel nods. “There’s more, of course, but that’s basically all you need.”

“And I’m alive because I wasn’t supposed to die?”

Lucifer takes another sip of his drink. His shirt is a little worse for the wear, Chloe notices. Wrinkled and stained with what looks like blood. She sees his busted lip. He licks at his lip, testing the area. “Michael, our other brother, performs resurrections,” he continues with the story. “Since you shouldn’t have died, God—our father—instructed Michael to bring you back.”

Chloe imagines her grave for a moment. Was she even buried? How did she get here? She tries to stop all the questions, since Lucifer said they will answer all her questions. The most pressing is seemingly, “Where am I?”

“My penthouse,” Lucifer says a little proudly. 

“Why?”

“I didn’t…” he meets her gaze. “I didn’t want you waking up in your grave. I thought that might be…uncomfortable for you.”

Chloe appreciates the thought. She tries to imagine waking up six feet below, inside a coffin, but she shakes the thought away because it’s too horrifying. For the Devil, Lucifer is surprisingly thoughtful. She stops her train of thought and repeats _the Devil_. Lucifer is the Devil. Amenadiel is an angel. They’re _brothers_ , which might be the strangest part. 

If she hadn’t been in Heaven, she never would’ve believed either of them.

“Wait,” she says, remembering something. “How long have I been dead?”

Amenadiel and Chloe both turn to Lucifer since he was there. “A week and a day.” It seems like Lucifer goes somewhere else in his mind. “You died so fast,” he says, looking down at his knees. “I’d immobilized Jimmy and when I returned to you, you were almost gone. Then completely gone. Back-up flooded the scene, EMS tried to revive you. But…” He sighs and forces a smile, but it’s different from the smiles she remembers of him. “You were buried three days ago and now, you’re back.”

Chloe runs her fingers over her phantom wound again. She feels so connected to a bullet that seemingly never hit her. “How am I just healed?”

“Divinity,” Amenadiel offers. “All wounds, scars…any blemish will be gone.”

She reaches down to test his theory, pulling up the sleeve of her jacket, but it doesn’t move far enough. Chloe hands Amenadiel her glass of water, which he takes without complaint, as she removes her jacket. Just above her elbow used to be a scar from the only time she attempted bungee jumping. She’d been shaking like a leaf, terrified something might happen, but it was her own stupid fault. While she waited, she found a nail in the wooden platform frame. She’d worried at it, picked at the wood, until eventually she exposed the nail. When her name was called, she turned quickly and it cut her deep. She never did jump.

The scar is gone. She holds out her arm and looks at herself. She looks…perfect. She lifts the bottom of her shirt—suddenly aware of how free she’s been with her body in the last few minutes, but doesn’t care, as she openly examines her stomach for the stretch marks from carrying Trixie. Nothing.

“Am I…human?”

Lucifer laughs and then nods. Even Amenadiel has a hint of a smile. “Yes, of course. Just… improved.” Amenadiel says.

“No improvement necessary,” Lucifer flirts, giving Chloe one of his patented looks.

She rolls her eyes and feels even more like herself. She’s still shaky, confused. The questions just rushing through her head, but she’s needs to find a center. Balance. Finding any kind of connection back to herself is helping. Because she’s too overwhelmed.

Amenadiel hands back her water. “You should drink. It’ll help. Are you hungry?”

She shakes her head before taking a sip. “I don’t think so.”

“Tired?” Lucifer asks.

“No. I’m just…I don’t know what I need. I have questions, but I don’t know what to ask. I’m confused, but I’m not sure on what. I’m just trying to make sure I’m still me.” She runs her one hand over her arm, feeling her own skin. “I sort of feel like this is just…not real life.”

Amenadiel nods. “It might feel like that for a while. You need to take time for yourself to adjust.”

Chloe reaches for the glass of scotch Lucifer had poured for her. Amenadiel hands it over and she sips it slowly. He stands. “I have a matter to attend to, but I’ll come back in a couple of hours. I wouldn’t leave if it weren’t pressing.”

“Of course,” she says waving him off. “I just…need to be in my thoughts, I think.”

Amenadiel turns to Lucifer. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Angels carry cell phones?”

Lucifer laughs and Amenadiel grins. “Not quite. We communicate in other ways.” Lucifer sets down his glass to press his hands together.

“Oh, that makes sense.”

Amenadiel walks over to the doors leading to the balcony and Chloe watches him carefully, because it’s an odd direction to walk in if he plans to leave. Suddenly, Amenadiel has two dark wings sprouting from behind him and she shifts back on her hip, almost to give him more room, despite that fact that she’s twenty feet away from him. She’s not sure if he’d exposed his wings on purpose or because he’s forgotten that, even though she hasn’t freaked out yet, all of this is new to her.

One moment Amenadiel is standing on the balcony, the next he’s gone.

Chloe turns to Lucifer, who has been watching her this whole time. 

“Why are you so surprised, Detective?” he asks her. “He did say he was an angel.”

“Seeing is believing,” is all she can manage.

Lucifer sighs and stands from his seat on the couch’s arm rest. “I don’t know about you, but I could use some fresh air. The sunrise is in about an hour. Join me on the terrace?” he asks smoothly.

Chloe stretches her legs out before her. She hasn’t actually stood yet and she’s a little nervous. She sets her feet on the ground, wiggling her toes in her boots. She sets both of her glasses on Lucifer’s coffee table and pushes up from beside her hips to stand. She’s a little wobbly at first, her knees seemingly giving into her weight, but she catches herself.

Only she doesn’t. Lucifer is right beside her, looking down at her, with his hand on her elbow. “You’re like a newborn giraffe. Take it slow,” he grins.

She allows him to help her away from all the furniture, to a wide space between the piano and bar. Once she’s steady for a minute, Lucifer releases her and she takes a few steps. She really wishes her boots didn’t have heels, but maybe it’s best to challenge herself. After a few strides, she feels sure on her legs. She walks towards the terrace, where Lucifer joins her with two more glasses of scotch.


	4. Presenting Chloe as a prize.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I see all your kudos and I read, and reply, to all your comments and I just want to thank you! Receiving such kind feedback is very gratifying, so I love hearing from you. I appreciate you just taking the time to read what I have to share! So, thank you.
> 
> Edit: There was a bit of a formatting issue in the middle of the chapter when it first went up which removed a whole chunk of text (like over 500 words!), so if you're seeing this message, it has been fixed. Sorry about that!

Lucifer sits across from Chloe in one of the two sleek armchairs on this side of his terrace. He has more seating options than is necessary, but this configuration is his favorite. He rests back into the chair, crossing one leg over the other and he measures his glances.

He keeps waiting for Chloe to freak out. To scream at something they’ve told her. To turn away repulsed. But she seems fine. Shaken up, and physically shaken on her legs, but nothing a little time won’t repair.

Lucifer had expected a freak out, but Chloe seems to be rather okay. Even so, he doesn’t flood her with questions or even chatter, which is so unlike him. Instead, he focuses on his own problems—which is very _much_ like him.

Because he has a big problem. At first, he didn’t see it. Michael was being a dick about bringing Chloe back. Thinking he could resurrect her in a box. Not understanding why offering her comfort might make her transition easier. Then, he all but gave up. Shrugging off his responsibilities like Chloe didn’t matter. It enraged Lucifer, although the fight between him and his twin was centuries in the making. He just has a punchable face. (Which is when Lucifer might start listing off their physical differences to explain why he, too, doesn’t have a punchable face, but he’s too busy worrying.)

Lucifer noticed the problem when Chloe awoke. He reached for her, more than once. He felt _protective_. Concerned. Sure, Lucifer can be giving, but he doesn’t usually feel the need quite so strongly. And when he touched her hand, he felt connected to her.

 _Bloody fucking tether_ , he thinks, realizing what little information he has on the whole thing. 

Amenadiel had told Lucifer that Chloe is his gift and he is her tether, but he was too disgusted with the idea of his father gifting anything to truly focus on the second part. What does being a tether mean and can it explain why Lucifer wants Chloe to be happy? Safe?

He certainly hasn’t spent enough time with this human—and doubts time would change him anyway—to care that deeply.

Chloe sighs softly, dragging Lucifer from his thoughts and he actually appreciates the distraction for once. He glances at her, in case she has something to say or a question. He truly looks at her and all the things he noticed when he first met her still apply—she’s stunningly beautiful. Bright eyes, full lips, a softness that’s perfectly balanced with a toughness—especially when she’s on the job. Lucifer loved how quickly it felt like they connected, on a professional level, of course. Maybe it’s because she’s not charmed by him.

He has a thought. “Detective,” he says smoothly.

She turns to look at him but says nothing.

Lucifer leans in closer, his dark eyes meeting her light ones. “What is it that you _truly_ desire?”

For a split second, her eyes seem to really focus on his and he waits patiently to hear the answer. But then she smiles. “You know that doesn’t work on me.”

Lucifer sits back with a huff. “Hmm. I thought maybe Heaven changed you.”

Chloe turns from him and looks far away. He gives her space again. If his mojo doesn’t work on her then maybe that, too, is part of the gift. Or the tether. But it doesn’t make sense. If she is his gift, you’d think God would’ve made her so he could charm her. Make her so she’s interested in him, but she’s not.

“In Heaven,” Chloe says, almost carefully. “Did you…have problems with your memories? You’re a fallen angel, right? That’s the story of the Devil.”

“Memories? Well, no. And yes, I was once an angel. Not for a long, long time.”

“Oh.”

“Oh to the Devil bit or the memories?”

“Memories,” she says.

Lucifer uncrosses his legs and leans forward with his elbows on his knees. He swirls his bourbon and looks out on the city below. “Heaven was different for me. Firstly, all my memories were from Heaven, so they didn’t have a veil over them.”

Chloe’s alert now. “A veil?”

“Mm-hmm,” he nods. “Human memories don’t do well in Heaven unless you work hard. Eventually, they fade away. It’s a way of taking away your sense of time. Otherwise, you might realize how boring and long Heaven is. It is the worst place imaginable, really,” he says, contemplatively. “Hell can at least change from day-to-day.”

She nods, as if she understands. “I was having a memory of—”

Chloe makes a sound like she’s choking and Lucifer’s attention turns to her quickly. Her eyes are wide, so he jumps up. “Detective?” he asks as he considers reaching out to her, but something in him holds back.

“Trixie,” she whispers, looking up at Lucifer. “Oh my God. I forgot about her!”

“Please don’t bring _Him_ into this.” 

Chloe stands, ignoring Lucifer. She sets down her glass and presses her hands to her mouth. Lucifer watches as she paces a few times before rushing back into the penthouse.

“Detective!” he calls after her, reaching her quickly. “What are you doing?”

When she turns to face him, Chloe’s eyes are filled with tears. “I forgot about Trixie, Lucifer. And Dan! I haven’t thought about them once since returning! How could I…she’s my daughter!” Her words are clipped. She steps around Lucifer and walks towards the elevator.

Lucifer cuts her off, hands raised to stop her. “Wait a minute.”

“Wait for what?” Chloe pushes at his chest. He can see her frustration, heartache, and fear. She pushes him again, but of course he doesn’t move. “Lucifer, my daughter thinks I’m dead. She’s spent eight days believing I’m dead. I _have to_ go to her. Right now,” Chloe says, as out of control as Lucifer’s ever witnessed.

He reaches out to take her upper arms, steadying her again. “Detective. It’s not even light out yet. Let her sleep.”

Chloe wipes away tears, untangling herself from Lucifer. “I have to go to her.”

“And you will. I _promise_.”

“You’ve made promises to me before that you couldn’t keep.”

Lucifer feels like he’s been punched in the face by Maze or someone else Hell-bent on dishing out maximum pain. He steps back from her, sliding his hands into his pockets. He promised he’d keep her alive. Promised she wouldn’t die and then… Lucifer forces a slight smile. He steps out of her way and waves towards the elevator. “Far be it from me to keep you from your offspring.”

Chloe rushes out of the penthouse and Lucifer looks after her, watching her until the elevator doors slide shut. He sighs and turns back to his bar, needing a drink badly.

He was never tasked to keep Chloe alive, not as though he listens to his father’s tasks anyway. But this one, he might’ve considered. _Of course you’d save her_ , he reminds himself. But now he’s being held accountable for something he had no control over. Lucifer isn’t the being who decides who lives or dies. He’s not supposed to interfere, so why now? After millennia, why is Chloe Decker the single human he was meant to keep alive?

Lucifer tosses back his drink and tries to think about anything else. For a day now it’s been Chloe this and Chloe that. He needs space from her. He needs to focus on himself because he can’t help her.

But then he has a thought. She rushed out of here into the early morning hours. It’s still dark. She has no money, no phone. She’s virtually alone.

“Bollocks,” Lucifer whispers and sets down his glass. He grabs his keys and heads downstairs.

Lucifer pulls his Corvette out in front of Lux, but Chloe’s not standing there as he assumed. Sure, she has limited resources, but she’s still clever and if she’s so determined to get to her daughter, she’ll find a way. Even so, Lucifer continues down the block, looking on both sides of the street for her.

After three blocks, he sees her. She’s practically stomping down the sidewalk, her eyes straight ahead. She’s heading east on the other side of the block, so Lucifer cuts across the street, his headlights illuminating her. Chloe jumps back, concerned at first, but then she relaxes when she sees him. He reaches across the car to open the passenger side door. “Come on, then. I’ll take you where you need to go.”

She seems so relieved. Chloe climbs into the car and offers a brief, “Thank you.” She gives Lucifer an address and then the first direction and off they go.

Lucifer turns on the radio to block out the obvious silence between them. The silence on his terrace was comfortable, necessary. But this is maddening. Chloe looks off into the distance, watching downtown Los Angeles pass by in a sea of colors. Lucifer wishes he could be so distracted, but he keeps hearing her words over and over again. _“You’ve made promises to me before that you couldn’t keep.”_

He vows in that moment never to promise anything to Chloe again.

He feels as close to a liar as he ever has before.

Chloe tells him to make a right and they start ascending out of the densely packed downtown. The streets become quieter just as the sun begins to crest to the east.

Lucifer drums his fingers on the steering wheel, trying to distract himself.

“I’m sorry,” Chloe says.

He glances at her.

She seems genuinely upset, which Lucifer assumed was about her daughter, but now he understands it’s also about what she said. “I shouldn’t have thrown what you said to me right before I died back in your face. You were trying to comfort me. It’s what people say.”

“It wasn’t just that,” he admits. “I _did_ believe I could save you.”

“Is it a Devil thing?”

He chuckles a little. “No. I have no say in life or death. I don’t choose where people go, either.”

“You don’t?”

“No. People send themselves to Hell and then, and only then, do I step in.” He sighs. “When I promised you’d be alright, I meant it. I truly believed you’d be fine because…well, you’re strong and it just never occurred to me that you could just die.”

Chloe considers this quietly for a moment.

Lucifer adds, “I don’t lie, so when I made you that promise, it seems like maybe I did lie. Unknowingly, of course. I won’t make that mistake again.”

She offers another direction and then asks, “You never lie?”

“Never.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not worth it.”

Chloe seems happy enough with his explanation. They fall into a brief silence again and balance is seemingly restored. The silence feels good. Lucifer follows one last direction and then Chloe points to where he can pull up to a curb.

It’s just past 5:30 a.m. and Chloe stares at an unremarkable white house. She doesn’t immediately jump out, as Lucifer had assumed.

“Your house?” he asks.

She shakes her head no. “Dan’s place. It’s a rental,” she explains, as if information like that is necessary. “I figured…Trixie wouldn’t want to stay in our house, so she’s probably here.” She nods to the car in the driveway. “That’s Dan’s car, at least.”

“So, they’re here.”

She nods.

“And you’re sitting in my car.”

Chloe turns to him, her eyes wide with fear. More fear than she’s had all night. “What do I…say to them?”

Lucifer releases a big sigh and looks off. He hadn’t really considered this moment before, mostly because he, too, had forgotten about Chloe’s life. “I don’t know,” he admits. “The truth.” He looks back at her now and decides not to look away from her again because she seems like she needs support. “Tell them you can’t explain it. Or you don’t remember. Just…don’t play that angle up too much or they might lock you away like you’re a nut.”

She offers a brief smile.

Lucifer leans in a little closer, holding her gaze. “Chloe,” he says softly, trying to cut through her nerves. “They’re your family and they love you. They’re just going to be happy you’re alive.”

She nods and looks towards the house again. Lucifer doesn’t personally understand what Chloe is going through—what she’s been going through for eight days now. The death and then Heaven and then coming back. He also doesn’t understand the familial connection. He does, in theory, but Lucifer couldn’t see himself agonizing over his family like Chloe is agonizing over hers. It’s sort of nice to see her caring so much.

When she turns back, she asks, almost as if she expects him to say no, “Will you come with me?”

But Lucifer doesn’t say no. “Of course, Detective.”

They walk up the path towards the front door together. Chloe’s gait is short, nervous, but she makes it and for a moment, holds her finger over the doorbell. She looks up to Lucifer and he offers her a single nod and then she presses the button.

She swallows hard a few times and Lucifer says quietly, “You’ll be okay.”

A light turns on inside, which he can see through the frosted glass on either side of the door. Lucifer hears footsteps, most likely from Dan as they’re much too heavy for Trixie. He unlocks the door and instantly Chloe’s hand is in Lucifer’s. He looks down at their joined hands and then into her eyes. She’s terrified. He squeezes her hand once and gives her the best reassuring smile he can manage.

The front door opens.

Dan notices Lucifer first. “Hey man, I—” and then he notices Chloe.

He takes a step back as if someone has shot him. Dan’s eyes are wide as he stares at Chloe. Lucifer never took Daniel as a particularly thoughtful kind of guy, but he can see Dan trying to piece everything together in just a few seconds. After all, his wife has just risen from the dead.

Chloe releases Lucifer’s hand to wring both of her hands together. “Hi, Dan,” she says.

Dan shakes his head and looks wide-eyed towards Lucifer. “I don’t…wh-what?”

Lucifer holds out his arms like he’s one of those presenters on the _Price is Right_ , presenting Chloe as a prize. “She’s back,” Lucifer says with a shrug.

“H-how?”

“It’s, uh…” Chloe looks to Lucifer. He shifts on his feet, dropping his hands. He has no answer to give her that wouldn’t be a lie. “It’s a long story.”

“But you’re…” Dan takes a step forward. “Are you okay?”

Chloe smiles and Lucifer can see her shoulders relax. “I’m okay. I’m…me.”

With a gasp, Dan pulls Chloe into his arms and the two of them hold tightly to each other. Lucifer sees Dan’s tears and for once, doesn’t want to make fun of the guy. Chloe buries her face against his neck and Lucifer gives them space for their moment.

Dan and Chloe might no longer be in a romantic relationship—or maybe even _in_ love—but they clearly love one another. 

After a few moments, Dan pulls back and wipes away his tears. He laughs, the kind of manic laugh that comes with an overabundance of feelings. He holds onto her upper arms, almost to make sure she’s real. “I can’t…it’s a miracle,” he says.

“You’re right about that,” Lucifer quips.

Dan looks over at Lucifer. “What are you doing with him?” he asks, not judgmental, but curious.

“Oh, right. Well…”

“I’ve seen this sort of thing before,” Lucifer supplies vaguely, motioning to Chloe. “So, I’m a bit like her guardian Devil.” His mouth turns up into a hint of a smile.

Chloe offers the same smile back.

Dan just looks confused and then recognition hits him. “Trixie. She needs to know.”

Chloe nods. “I don’t want to wake her up, but…”

“Of course! Come in. I’ll get her.”

Lucifer and Chloe walk into Dan’s apartment and Lucifer looks around. He shakes his head, taking in the drab décor. “Sad,” he says, picking one of the eight remotes on Dan’s coffee table. “He’ll never get laid again with all this…dull ‘furniture.’” Lucifer touches one of the polyester throw pillows adorning Dan’s couch.

Chloe shifts on her feet and Lucifer turns to her. She’s a little wide-eyed again. “Detective, your offspring is going to be thrilled to see you.”

“But I can’t explain this. I mean, eventually they’re going to need an explanation,” she says quickly. 

Lucifer reads her nerves as if they were about the child, but now he gets it. He slides his hands into his pockets and tries not to get sucked into critiquing Daniel’s…“style.” 

“We’ll figure that part out.” _I promise_ , he wants to say, but stops himself. “For now, enjoy your reunion.”

A moment later the sound of little feet running down the hall fills the living room and Trixie cries out, “Mommy!” before throwing herself into Chloe’s open arms. Chloe kneels down right before Trixie wraps herself in her mother, so the two of them cry against each other on the floor.

Chloe strokes Trixie’s hair and breathes her in. Her reunion with Dan was nothing like this. Lucifer can see her relief, her shaking hands, the fear all gone now. She pulls back to look at Trixie’s face and wipes away her daughter’s tears. She leans in and kisses each of Trixie’s cheeks and then the end of her nose. “Oh, Monkey,” Chloe sighs and pulls her back in for a tighter hug.

Lucifer feels a tightness in his chest watching the reunion, something he definitely didn’t expect.

Dan stands off to the side, continuing to wipe away tears. He focuses on Lucifer and walks around the reunion as Chloe begins asking Trixie about her week.

“Do you have any answers?” he asks Lucifer, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well sure. I have _many_ answers, Daniel.”

He rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

Lucifer regards Dan. He reiterates what Chloe said, which is the truth, “It’s complicated. You should just be happy she’s back.”

“Is she really back?” Dan asks, a bit of tension in his voice.

Lucifer nods easily. “Yes. Nothing will hurt her again.”

After some time, the initial shock has worn off, so the Decker-Espinoza family begins their morning like they once did—before the separation and definitely before Chloe’s death. Lucifer feels like a bit of a fourth wheel, so he hovers by the door. He also hovers away from the child since she keeps looking like she might try to hug him.

Chloe turns to Lucifer as Dan sets Trixie up with some breakfast. “Are you hungry?” she asks. “Dan’s making pancakes.”

Lucifer heard the whole pancakes conversation, but he doesn’t call Chloe out on it. He simply gives her a smile and shakes his head. “No. I better be off. Maybe take a nap since I didn’t sleep much last night.”

She looks back to Dan and Trixie. “I’ll uh…be right back,” she tells them. Trixie’s eyes go wide. “Promise, Monkey,” she says warmly.

Chloe opens the front door and pushes Lucifer through it. It’s now truly morning out, the sun rising for another sunny Los Angeles day. “Very handsy, Detective. Not that I’m complaining,” he says with a chortle.

“Now what?” she asks.

“Hmm?”

“What happens now?”

Lucifer removes his hands and motions to the air around him. “The world is your oyster, Detective. Do whatever you like.”

“But…I mean. I just go back to normal like nothing happened?”

“It’s up to you. You’ve been resurrected,” he says quietly, just in case Dan has a glass pressed to the door. “Your life is yours once again.”

“So, that’s just it?”

“What more would you like?”

Chloe looks away from Lucifer. She shrugs and says nothing for a moment. 

Eventually, he offers, “Do what you please. It’s _your_ decision now.”

She looks like she might say something, but Chloe must change her mind. She motions back to the house. “Well then, I guess I’ll have pancakes with my family because…that’s what I’d like to do.”

“Perfect! That is _exactly_ what I meant. Enjoy your pancakes and enjoy your life.”

Chloe’s eyebrows knit together. Her hand hovers over the doorknob to the house as she stares at Lucifer. He gives her one last smile and then takes a step back. “Good luck, Detective,” he says, which barely conveys all the things he might want to say to her, but it’s for the best. She’s returned to her family. She can move on from all this unpleasantness and pretend it never happened.

Lucifer turns away from her and walks back down the walkway. When he reaches his car, he sees the front door shutting behind Chloe.


	5. Sláinte

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today is my birthday, so I'm giving you a gift of a new chapter.
> 
> I am incredibly humbled by all the comments and kudos. Thank you for being the very best.

Lucifer finishes “Jolene” with a flourish of his fingers on the keys, crooning into the microphone that hangs above his piano. His patrons clap to show their support, men and women alike cheering him on and he stands with a little bow. A moment later, he steps back from the piano and the club music starts again.

He walks the couple of steps up to the bar and leans in at the far end.

“A drink, Maze, please,” he says with a grin. “I love bachelorette party nights,” he says fondly as he watches a dozen or so women in short skirts throw more caution to the wind with each downed shot.

Maze looks up from pouring Lucifer a drink to say, “Me, too.”

She hands Lucifer his drink and holds up her own. “Sláinte,” he says, touching his glass to hers.

“Cheers,” she agrees.

Lucifer notices a particular blonde in the bachelorette group and he points her out to Maze. He’s seen the woman looking his way all night, but then again, he looks good in his dark green suit, white shirt, and checkered pocket square. “What do you think of her?”

Maze looks the woman up and down and shrugs. “She looks like that Detective you resurrected,” which comes out so casually, as if resurrection is nothing at all.

Lucifer guffaws. “That woman looks _nothing_ like _the Detective_ ,” he says with emphasis.

“She does to me.”

Lucifer looks at the woman again—tall and lean, an angular face, light eyes. Sure, Chloe looks similarly in the way that blonde hair-blue eyed women look similar. But the Detective would never stand atop a table dancing for people to watch.

It’s been a week since Lucifer left Chloe with her family and he hasn’t heard anything from her since, not like he expected to. He’s assumed she’s returned to her life. Her kid and Dan, maybe. If Lucifer knows anything, Chloe must be back at work. Besides Trixie, work is the most important thing and finding balance starts with routine.

Lucifer would be lying if he didn’t think about her every now and then. He hopes she’s doing well, but she knows where to find him if she weren’t.

A few times Lucifer thought about calling Amenadiel, since he’s sure his saintly brother has checked in with Chloe, but he hasn’t yet. Perhaps he never will.

Lucifer has his own life to get back to and can’t concern himself with Chloe.

“You’re wrong,” Lucifer says. “It’s all about her attitude. She is not at all like the Detective.”

Maze pours Lucifer another drink. “Mm-hmm, sure.”

“Mazikeen, you wouldn’t get it because you don’t pay enough attention. What you’re focused on is looks, but a person’s looks change with the attitude. That fine young woman,” he says motioning to the blonde as her friends help her down off the table, “is nothing like Detective Decker, who most likely went to bed hours ago. That woman is actually fun.”

Maze shrugs. “I’m just saying that _that_ woman looks like Decker and you very clearly have a type. At least currently.”

Lucifer finishes his drink. “You’re very irritating tonight.”

“You’re irritated because it’s true.”

He adjusts his lapels and unbuttons his suit jacket. “I think your vision is going in your old age.”

“You’re older than me.”

“Yes,” he says and shoots her with one last grin, “and as your elder, I expect you to respect me as I respectfully disagree with you.”

Maze simply laughs as Lucifer walks off.

Lucifer approaches the gaggle or women fawning over the bride. The bride is another beautiful blonde, but much shorter than her friend. She might actually be the most sober of the ladies, which happens all-too-often at a bachelorette party. “Oh, hello,” he says to one of the women as he passes her. She leans into him, grinning like a happy fool.

Her hands run down his chest. “You’re so _hot_.”

“As are you, darling,” he says, wrapping an arm around her waist.

He takes the first woman along as he reaches his destination. Up close, the blonde might actually look more like Chloe than he had expected, but she’s still so unlike the Detective, so he pushes those thoughts away.

The blonde flushes as soon as she notices Lucifer standing before. “Hello. I’m Lucifer.”

“Courtney,” she says, completely under his spell.

Some hours later, with Courtney on one side and Claire—the brunette—on the other, Lucifer tries to sleep. He’s never worn out from sex, but wishes he could experience the exhaustion that lulls his partners right to sleep.

Instead, he lies awake. He forces himself to think of Lux—making business plans to help him fall asleep, but it doesn’t work. He then thinks of Michael and his father, hoping maybe boiling hatred would work, but alas.

Finally, Lucifer just gives in. He allows himself to think of the Detective. He knows Chloe is fine physically. She’s safe, even if he’s not checking in on her. But he worries about her mind. Her thoughts. She was so calm about everything he and Amenadiel told her, but she must have more questions. Some concerns, at the very least. But Lucifer doesn’t want to bother her. Interrupt her life anymore. His job is done and Chloe is alive. That’s certainly all that matters.

When it seems like sleep will never come, Lucifer climbs from his bed to shower. He steps along the cool tiles and turns the heat all the way up, water’s never too hot for the Devil. Lucifer’s never experienced such an unaffecting night between two ladies before. The sex was good, of course—great by some standards—but his mind is all over the place. It’s eternally frustrating.

After his shower, he dresses in a simple black suit. He pours himself a drink and leans against his bar. He hates leaving partners behind in his bed since its incredibly rude, but Lucifer is hoping to catch Dr. Linda for an early morning session. Lucifer’s not used to kicking his lovers out of his bed, but with these two women, that’ll make three in the last week. Lucifer finishes his drink and gets to the unpleasantness, feeling like a dick the whole time.

Lucifer has been seeing Dr. Linda since his first case with Chloe and he thinks the therapy is working. Maybe. Possibly not. But it is good to discuss his feelings, he supposes.

When he reaches Linda’s office, it’s just barely seven, so he waits. Lucifer gets bored easily with people and activities, but sometimes he’s happy just to sit and think. Although, today, he’d give anything for a distraction. Maybe I should buy a cellphone, he thinks to himself.

Linda walks into her waiting room and jumps at the sight of Lucifer. “Jesus,” she says, hand to chest.

“He has nothing to do with this. Although, he isn’t quite who all those WASPs like to make him out to be,” he says while he stands. Lucifer holds out a cup of coffee he’d purchased for Linda. “It’s cold by now—if you’d only been here earlier.”

“I don’t start work until nine,” she tells him.

He follows her into her office. “Good to know for the future.”

Lucifer sets the cold coffee onto the table between them and sits down on the couch. Linda settles in, tucking her things away and eying her most interesting patient. “Did something happen?” she asks before their session officially starts.

“I’m struggling, Doctor.”

“With what?” she asks, walking around her desk to her chair, sitting down with a notepad in hand.

Lucifer extends his arms along the back of the couch, crossing one leg over the other so his ankle rests on the opposite knee. “Humanity.”

“Humanity,” she repeats, sighing a little at the metaphor.

“Yes, well, I haven’t seen you since we resurrected the Detective and—”

“You, what?” Linda asks.

Lucifer sighs, realizing Linda needs much more of the story than that. “My brother Michael resurrected Detective Decker after she was shot by Jimmy Barnes.” Lucifer continues, telling Linda about the grave robbing, carrying Chloe’s body into his penthouse, and the eventual resurrection. “And so, I left her with her ex and her daughter, because that seems most reasonable, and now I feel…off. I think about the Detective often—too often for someone I’ve never slept with. I am not enjoying sex as much because I can’t focus enough. And I even missed a note in my otherwise stirring rendition of Sia’s ‘Breathe Me,’ which does not happen to me, Doctor.”

Linda holds up her pen, pointing into the air, almost trying to gather her thoughts. “I’m sorry. I’m not understanding the metaphor of Chloe’s resurrection.”

“It’s not a metaphor,” he sighs. “Michael, the archangel, resurrected the Detective. It’s one of his powers. It wasn’t without some struggle—the resurrection that is—which would normally tickle me since I love watching my _incorrigible_ brother failing, but not when the Detective’s life is on the line.”

“Lucifer,” Linda says gently. “Chloe Decker is dead. She died a few weeks ago.”

“That is what I’m trying to tell you! She isn’t dead. We revived her and now I worry about her all the time. It’s…inconvenient, to say the least.”

Linda looks at Lucifer sadly. “I know Chloe’s death was hard on you. You felt responsible for not being able to save her, but that’s not your job.”

“But it was! I learned that, too. My father planned on me saving her. He didn’t share that information with me, of course.”

“Your father, God,” Linda says with a sigh. She shuts her notebook. “Lucifer, I love treating you and I enjoy spending time with you, but your metaphors are going too far now. It’s infringing on your reality. Chloe Decker _is_ dead.”

Lucifer stands and crosses the room, needing space from Linda. “How am I supposed to stop thinking of someone, then?” he asks, trying to reframe so Linda might understand. “I’ve put distance. I don’t talk to her. But still, I worry about her safety all the time. I worry…”

When he cuts himself off, Linda asks, “Worry, what?”

“That she might die again.” He stares out Linda’s window. “Humanity,” he brings it back around. “Your lives are so fragile.”

“And yours isn’t?”

He chuckles and turns back to her. “Immortal,” he says pointing to his chest.

“Fine, if we’re going to speak outside your metaphor, I can help you.” She watches as Lucifer sits back down. “Why is it that you’d like to stop thinking of her? I would think it’s a good thing to remember her.”

Lucifer gives up on trying to convince Linda that Chloe is alive. He relaxes back against the couch again. “It’s not me to care so much.”

Linda allows his comment to settle around them. When she does speak, she first starts and stops before finally asking, “Why do you see caring as such a bad thing?”

“It’s weakness, Doctor.”

“And you don’t want to seem weak.”

“I’m _not_ weak,” he seethes. “But with the Detective…” he motions his hand, as if Linda can fill in the blank, but that doesn’t work for her. She asks him to elaborate. Lucifer tries to find the words. “Since she’s been back, I have felt…worried about her. Protective.”

Linda plays within what she believes is his metaphor again. “So, if she’s alive, you can talk to her.”

“That is precisely what I don’t want to do.”

“Why not?”

“Because I shouldn’t care.”

“But you do.”

Lucifer tips his head back. “We’re just talking circles now.”

Linda nods. “We are, but I’m waiting for you to give me something more substantial. If Chloe were alive, and you could talk to her, it seems like you’re trying to hide the real reason you’d need space. Can I tell you what I think?” Lucifer nods, strangely quiet. “I think Chloe’s life affected you more than you planned on. Her death made you realize how much she lost when she died, therefore proving how much you lost. It doesn’t matter that you only knew her for a little while—it’s the quality of the time over the quantity.”

Lucifer considers the quality time he and Chloe shared. He liked her the instant he met her. She was brave, full of conviction, and didn’t put up with his shit, which felt like an unattainable challenge to make her like him. But that’s what made him like her so much more—she wasn’t attainable. She wasn’t really a conquest for him, although the idea of her allowing him between her legs was an awfully good fantasy to reside in.

“She’s supposed to be a gift for me,” Lucifer says.

“Chloe is a gift?” Linda asks.

“I know you’re going to believe this is another metaphor, but please suspend your belief for a moment, Doctor, because this is the root of everything. My father put Chloe on this planet to be a gift to me. Her conception was orchestrated and if that’s the case, everything I might be feeling is orchestrated, too. _That_ is the problem. I don’t care about other humans much, so the only logical answer to why I’m feeling…something for Chloe—caring, protectiveness—is because of that bond.”

This confession takes Linda a little while longer to unpack. Lucifer remains as patient as possible. He considers just showing Linda his devil face. If he did, she might finally believe the things he’s been telling her. But right now, he needs her advice—even if it is tainted with the constraints of humanity.

Linda finally asks, “So, you think Chloe is a gift of what…? To be a romantic partner?”

“No,” Lucifer says quickly. “She once called me repulsive,” he says with a suspiciously happy grin.

“Then what? A test?”

“Not much of a gift,” Lucifer argues.

“Maybe she’s supposed to teach you something. Knowing your father, he’s a big fan of moral lessons.”

Lucifer focuses on Linda’s suggestion and raises his eyebrows. “You may be right.”

“Really?”

“It’s an angle I hadn’t considered.”

Linda nods and smiles to herself. Lucifer sees her small smile and wonders if his most insignificant breakthroughs actually make her happy. It seems that way. Feeling like doing a little less talking and I little more having of the sex, Lucifer stands to remove his jacket.

“Uh, actually,” Linda holds out a hand. “Perhaps we shouldn’t?”

“Why not?”

“Well…Lucifer, I think you should work through your emotions regarding Chloe. I don’t want you supplementing the pain of her death with sex.”

Lucifer returns his jacket to his shoulders but stands up anyway. “Chloe Decker isn’t dead.”

“We should talk about that.”

“Doctor, I think I’m done talking for the day. It was lovely seeing you, as always,” he says kindly as he leaves her office.

Lucifer has a lot to think about. Linda is correct that his father loves a good lesson—a test. Although, Lucifer would still argue the merits of a gift not being a test. But perhaps Chloe’s here to teach him something. It still feels…off that her existence would be for something as simple as a lesson. What lesson could really be that important? And surely Chloe isn’t prepared to teach him anything. He has been alive since the creation of time, after all.


	6. Hollow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, thank you for every single comment, kudo, bookmark, hit -- just everything. The support is unreal.
> 
> Second, I'm trying to incorporate Ella into this story despite the fact that she didn't show up until season two. It works in the timeline, mostly, it's just trying to give her a solid relationship with Chloe is tough with where Chloe is emotionally right now. I promise to have more Ella later and I'm excited in the way I'm able to write her.

Chloe wakes up in her house, in her bed, for the first time since coming back. She and Trixie have spent the last week with Dan while Chloe adjusted, but she needs her space.

She expected to open her eyes and feel like herself. Ready to tackle the day. Be a good mom to Trixie; be a competent—if not, great—detective. But she has little motivation to get out of bed. Her sheets aren’t particularly soft and her bed isn’t particularly nice, but she feels comforted laying in this very spot and it’d be much easier if Dan were to just take care of things for a little while longer.

Chloe glances at the clock and its after seven, so she really does need to get up. She climbs from bed with a sigh and looks down at herself. She’s nude except for a pair of panties, clearly having stripped down in the night.

Lately, she’s noticed little quirks she’s never had before—stripping in the night being one of them. A sudden taste for bourbon and dark chocolate. A need for a little danger—maybe trying out bungee jumping again. Going to bed too late. Watching dumb teen werewolf and vampire shows for hours on end. Anything that makes her less responsible feels…more like her lately.

Chloe remembers how she used to treat responsibility, like a badge of honor, but she’s not sure where that woman went.

She pushes herself from her mattress and reaches for a hair tie, preparing to pull her hair back, but then thinks better of it. Her closet is pretty uninspiring, but she chooses a pair of tight jeans, a pale blue button up, with her light leather jacket over top. She heads downstairs where Trixie is already awake.

“Morning Mommy,” she says with her little missing-teeth smile.

Chloe offers her daughter a smile, but she feels a pit in her stomach. She ignores it. “Hi…babe. What would you like for breakfast?”

“Cereal.”

Chloe simply nods and pulls the few groceries she has out to make Trixie some cereal. She sets everything out of the counter and looks at her daughter. She remembers viscerally how relieved she was to have her daughter in her arms after returning from Heaven, but now…Chloe can’t figure out what’s changed in the last few days, but sometimes she looks at Trixie and she’s not sure who she sees.

There’s a quick knock on her backdoor and then the turn of a key. Dan pops his head in with a smile. “Morning,” he greets.

“Daddy!” Trixie jumps from the stool to rush to hug Dan.

Chloe offers a brief smile. “Hey, Dan.”

She turns back to getting everything ready for the day. She makes Trixie a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich and packs her an apple and some popcorn. Trixie babbles happily to Dan about her class project about the ocean and Chloe tries to listen, especially when Trixie pulls her into the conversation by saying, “Right, Mom?”

Chloe turns and just nods. Trixie seems happy with that answer.

She feels like a monster. What mother feels so little a connection with her kid?

Chloe feels the tears prick the corners of her eyes, which reminds her maybe she’s not a monster. Maybe coming back to from Heaven just fucked her up worse than she thought.

Perhaps it’s time to talk to Lucifer.

Chloe thinks back on his abrupt departure last week, leaving her with Dan and Trixie, as if nothing had happened in the last few hours—in the last week. She wanted to call him back. She wanted to stop in and say hello. But she’d stopped herself. She even went as far as to drive past Lux a few days ago, but just kept going. Lucifer was pretty clear with her the other day; he helped resurrect her and that’s that.

But that’s one of the things that bothers Chloe. Michael is the resurrector so what was Lucifer’s role? Was it just because he knew her briefly before she died? Because that doesn’t feel like enough.

“Chlo?” Dan asks, dragging Chloe from her thoughts.

“Yeah?”

Dan holds up Trixie lunchbox. “Sorry, I brought her lunch. I didn’t think…”

Chloe looks down at what she’s created for her daughter, a sad lunch stuffed into a brown paper bag. Chloe shakes her head and laughs it off. “No, it’s fine. I’ll…bring this for myself.”

Dan regards her for a beat too long, so she looks away.

“Go get your backpack, Trix,” he tells her, running his hand over the top of Trixie’s head.

Trixie skips happily out of the room and Chloe’s one saving grace is it seems like Trixie isn’t noticing how different Chloe is acting. Dan is not so oblivious. He walks over, stepping into Chloe’s space bubble and she really wants to step back, but she doesn’t. “Are you really okay, Chlo?” he asks. They had this conversation last night when he noticed her distance when they were watching _Finding Nemo_ as a family.

Chloe gives him the same answer as last night. “I’m fine.” She surprises herself in asking, “Could you maybe take Trixie tonight? I haven’t been sleeping well and…”

Dan needs nothing more. He reaches out to squeeze Chloe’s upper arm and this time she does pull back. He gives her a small smile and drops his hand. “Of course.”

“Thank you.”

Trixie walks back into the room and Dan wraps his arm around her and holds her shoulder. “Bye Mommy!” Trixie says with a little wave. 

“Bye, Trix.”

Once the two of them are gone, Chloe feels the tightness in her chest lift, which makes her feel even worse in other ways. She was fine when they reunited, but now… Chloe shakes her head. She has to get to work, which hasn’t been as easy either.

She’s been back three days—today will be her fourth—and getting back into the rhythm of the precinct has been arduous. Her new lieutenant—Lt. Nick Fisher—was just as surprised to see her as Dan. He’d become the precinct lieutenant just days after Chloe had died, once Olivia Monroe was promoted to Chief of Police. Chloe found it interesting that even with the death of one of her detectives, Olivia Monroe was still promoted.

But it wasn’t Lt. Fisher that she had to answer to; seemingly everyone in the precinct, including the new forensic scientist, Ella Lopez, have more questions than Chloe can answer. She’s spent the last three days saying: “No, sorry, I don’t remember.”/“I’m okay, really.”/“Yes, I am officially back and I won’t…‘die’ again.”

Chloe just wants on a case. Being out in the field will help her get her groove back.

She grabs her badge, her gun, and her bag and heads out for the day. Chloe forgets to grab the lunch she’d made for Trixie and also forgets to lock the front door—another one of those habits she’d picked up since returning.

The drive to the precinct is thankfully interrupted by a call from Ella Lopez herself. 

“Decker here.”

“Chloe, great,” Ella says familiarly, like they’ve known each other longer than three days. “We have a crime scene.” Ella rattles off the address. “If you can’t make it, I can call in—”

“I’m on my way, Lopez.”

“Okay, perfect because—”

“I’ll be right there,” Chloe interrupts Ella. “You can tell me when I get there.”

Chloe abruptly ends the call. She likes Ella Lopez just fine, but since she can barely handle the people she knew _before_ , it’s easiest not to add any new people to her circle _after_.

She turns left at the next traffic light and heads back the way she came. The address is just a few neighborhoods over from her house. She’s familiar with the area for its gang activity and drug dealing. She’s worked multiple cases in the area and expects this one to be much the same.

As she pulls up to the address, she parks behind the forensics van and climbs from her car. The scene is busy with activity, the front yard acting as a staging area as officers set up for once the scene is cleared and they can start bagging evidence. Chloe walks up to an unremarkable apartment building, following a few officers up two flights of stairs. She reaches the landing and walks into a messy apartment.

Ella leans over the body, snapping shots of the man sprawled on his back, obvious gun-shot wounds to her chest.

Chloe pulls on a pair of gloves. “What do we have?”

“That was fast!” Ella says, pulling her camera back from her eye. Chloe waits for information and Ella shakes her head and says, “Right. Eli Marshall-Griffiths. Thirty-seven. Thirteen gunshot wounds to the abdomen, chest, and leg. I’m assuming death is from major blood-loss.”

“Any witnesses?” Chloe asks.

Dan arrives on scene and joins the two of them. “Hey.” He looks down at the body. “Brutal.”

“Hey, Dan,” Ella greets cheerfully. She turns back to Chloe. “A downstairs neighbor heard the shots and called 9-1-1. Apparently, there were two shots, some shouting, and fifteen minutes later, eleven more shots. He was still on with the operator when the second round of shots went off.”

“So, we know time of death, then.”

“8:30 a.m., give or take a few minutes.”

“And no one saw anyone come or go from the apartment?” Dan asks.

“Not that I’m aware of. Hudson was first on scene, so he might have more information.”

“I’ll go talk to Hudson,” Dan says, squeezing Chloe’s shoulder before he goes.

Chloe takes her jacket lapels to tighten the material around her middle, folding her arms over her chest. She looks down at the body—the 13 bullet-holes—and is reminded how much her single bullet wound hurt. This man must’ve really suffered.

She looks away and focuses on the room. There’s a dining room table by the front door covered in drug paraphernalia—bongs, rolling papers, a few pills that could really be anything. There’s also dozens of empty booze bottles, a few IDs which might be real or fake, some takeout containers, and a loud fish tank—of all things.

“He was the resident?” Chloe asks.

Ella stands. “No, actually. Just visiting, poor guy. He wasn’t even into all this,” Ella motions her hand to the table of debauchery.

For a second, Chloe thinks of Lucifer. She wonders what little quip he might have about everything on the table. Or the mess of the apartment in general.

“What do you mean ‘he wasn’t into all this?’” she asks, refocusing.

Ella points to a man standing off to the side with a few officers. “He lives here. Sam Cobb. He says Eli wasn’t into ‘this scene,’ which I think refers to the fact that Sam’s a low-level drug dealer. He swears Eli never touched the stuff.”

“And he wasn’t here when Eli was shot?”

“That’s what he says.”

Chloe nods. “Thanks, Ella.”

“Oh, sure thing, Chloe,” Ella brightens.

Chloe crosses the room, looking around the scene at everything possible. She sees a shot gun on the floor, but she wonders if it’s the murder weapon. The bullet wounds seemed to be from a smaller caliber, but they won’t know until ballistics are back. The gun has already been marked for bagging once Ella finishes taking all her photos.

“Mr. Cobb,” Chloe says, stepping between two beat cops. 

He looks up at her. He’s nervous. “Yeah.”

“I’m Detective Decker. I just have one question.” Sam nods. “Where were you when Mr. Marshall-Griffiths was shot?”

Sam sighs, as if he’s answered the question a dozen times, which he probably has. “I was at the bar around the corner. Lost Lake. Eli was supposed to come over later.”

“You were at a bar at 8:30 a.m.?”

“It’s a friend’s place. It never closes for friends.”

Chloe nods. “So, you did expect Mr. Marshall-Griffiths.”

“Yeah, but like I said, he was supposed to come over later. Like in the afternoon, or something.”

Chloe nods again, half-turning to look around the room. “Okay. Well, I have some more questions, so we’ll take you into the station.”

“I didn’t do nothing!” he shouts.

“Mr. Cobb, you have a dead body in your apartment. Even if you didn’t do anything, we still need to question you. I promise I’ll make it as painless as possible.”

“This is some bullshit.”

Chloe doesn’t deny it. She nods to the officers. “Let’s get him to the precinct.”

Sam doesn’t fight and allows the officer to lead him off. Chloe surveys the scene, which seems pretty cut and dry. Sam Cobb is a drug dealer and Eli was coming to buy drugs. Maybe Sam wasn’t here, and if he wasn’t, someone else was. Another buyer, perhaps. Or another drug dealer. 

Chloe waits for that spark of interest or thrill of being back on a crime scene, but she just feels empty. Hollow. She looks around, her sharp detective eyes usually noticing the most minute detail, but she feels like she can’t truly focus. The sound of Ella’s camera distracts her, as does the sound of the heavy boots of the officers as they walk all throughout the crime scene. Chloe would normally limit the people in a cramped scene like this, but she says nothing.

Ella notices Chloe just standing there and asks, “Are you okay?”

Chloe shakes her head. “No,” she says rather honestly. She’d planned to lie, but then decided, _what’s the point?_

Ella walks over to Chloe. “I know we don’t know each other that well, but if you need someone to talk to I’m your woman.”

Chloe nods slowly, appreciating Ella’s offer, but of course the first person who comes to mind is Lucifer. Is person even the right category? Being, maybe? 

When Chloe looks back to Ella, she notices the cross around Ella’s neck. “Do you…believe in Heaven and Hell?” she asks Ella.

“Oh. Uh…didn’t expect you to go there. But yeah, of course.”

“Do you believe in resurrection?”

Ella nods. “Yes,” she says easily. “But only for someone very important.”

“Like Jesus,” Chloe supplies.

“Sure. That’s the one most people would first name.”

“Yeah.”

Chloe isn’t important. She isn’t special. She’s just Chloe Decker, so why is she back? Just because of one mistake? It seems like a lot of effort to bring one person back just because someone checked the wrong box.

She gives Ella a slight smile. “Thanks, Ella. I’m going to go talk to the downstairs neighbor.”

“Okay! If you have any other questions…I’m here.”

“I know. Thanks.”

Chloe does her job like she’s supposed to, but something still feels off. She spends half the day at the scene and then the other half questioning witnesses at the precinct, but she just can’t focus. Or understand. It feels like her head is crowded and for one single second, she’d like anything else in the world to focus on.

Chloe drives past Lux on her way home and the club is quiet, but she knows it’ll be wall-to-wall with people in just a few hours. Even before meeting Lucifer, Chloe knew Lux’s reputation, but since meeting Lucifer, she understands. The free-flowing liquor, the dancing, the music, the drugs. Being free. She understands why people might choose Lux for an evening. You can become someone else under the haze of liquor. The alcohol dulls the senses and even lulls you. It sounds…nice.

It isn’t until later, when Chloe has returned home, eaten day-old Chinese food from her fridge, and is sitting on the couch by herself, that she wonders if maybe that’s her solution. A little break from her life. A pause.

She changes into something…not her. Tight jeans, sure, but a thin black tank top—the kind that skims her body instead of clinging to it, but its delicate straps are minimal against her skin. She puts on some heeled boots and some lipstick with actual color in it. Chloe looks at herself in the mirror. She still looks like her. In fact, most people would say the whole look is pretty normal, but it makes Chloe feel better.

She grabs her phone, wallet, and keys, shoving everything into her pockets and heads out into the night.

Lux is certainly busy now with a line out the door. She valets her car and bypasses the line because she’s too amped up to just stand there waiting. She approaches the bouncer, who gives her a suspicious look. And then recognition. “You’re that detective that was here a few weeks ago,” he says.

Chloe raises her eyebrows. _Easier than I thought_ , she thinks. “Yes. Detective Decker.”

“Are you on duty?”

“No.”

The bouncer lifts the rope. “Head on in.”

“Thank you.”

Chloe’s boots click on the floor as she walks into Lux and pulls open the doors into the bowels of the club. There are people everywhere, leaning along the railing, standing on the stairs, dancing up against each other. But Chloe is only looking for Lucifer. She stands at the top of the stairs once a couple clears out and looks out at the party below. The room smells of sweat and maybe vanilla. The lights are flashing—overwhelming—about as overwhelming as the loud music. But it’s exactly what Chloe needs to stop. Fucking. Thinking.

She looks from the mosh of people towards the piano, remembering when she first met Lucifer and how he kept playing even when she questioned him. But he’s not sitting at the keys. She looks towards the bar, but no luck. Maybe he doesn’t spend every night in the club.

Chloe’s feeling a bit deflated until she sees him. Lucifer walks out from under the stairs, clapping a man on the shoulder as they walk together towards the bar. Lucifer grins at the man, laughing, before shaking his hand. A deal, perhaps.

She doesn’t wait in case he disappears again.

Chloe walks straight up to the bar, where the bartender is pouring Lucifer a drink. Maze, Chloe remembers her name. 

“I’ll take one,” she says with confidence.

Lucifer looks over and seems surprised when he realizes it’s her. “Detective,” he grins. “What are you doing here?”

Maze sets the drink in front of Chloe, which she immediately tosses back before setting her glass back down for a refill. “I’m getting drunk. Wanna help?”

Lucifer gives her a slow smile. “It would be my greatest honor, Detective.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last thing to address, it might seem like Chloe has seamlessly reentered her life with little pushback. That is not the case. Trust me on that one.
> 
> If you feel compelled, leave a comment! I love hearing from you and reply to every single one.


	7. Please don't be a buzzkill, Lucifer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't say it enough -- thank you for the incredible response to this story. I am so glad you're enjoying what I'm writing. I look forward to hanging out in the comments and replying to each and every one of you.
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write.

Lucifer watches Chloe throw back her third shot in as many minutes and he notices her melting against the bar top. She knocks her knuckles on the bar and motions for another round. Lucifer grins, immensely entertained by this side of the Detective.

Maze sets down two more shots, seeming less than pleased.

Chloe raises her glass. “To resurrection.”

Lucifer touches his glass to hers. “I’ll drink to that.”

Chloe shakes off the shot, making a strange noise in her throat, almost like whooping sound. Maze, smartly, stands nearby now with a bottle. She ends up handing it to Lucifer. “I’ll put it on your tab,” she says with a narrowing of her eye, before walking off to help other patrons.

Lucifer pours out two more drinks. “You know, Detective, I never thought I’d see you like this. Well, before the whole dying thing.”

“Dying sucks,” Chloe says, leaning closer to Lucifer. There’s a bar stool between them and she leans in so her midsection is almost resting on the seat of the stool. “It really fucking hurts and then you’re up in Heaven and like…Heaven’s not that great?” Lucifer raises his eyebrows, handing her a drink. She tosses it back without even thinking. She wraps the empty glass in her hand and continues. “It’s just light and nothing delicious to eat. I thought I’d be chowing down on cheeseburgers and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and you just don’t eat because you don’t have to. Which is bullshit. It’s Heaven for crying out loud.”

Lucifer notices a man and woman sitting next to Chloe looking at her during her diatribe, but he knows anyone hearing her right now will write her words off as a monologue of a crazy woman.

“Why do you think I rebelled?” Lucifer asks, plucking the glass from her hand. “Heaven sucks.”

“Is that really why you rebelled? Sorry, I’m not up to snuff on all the Heaven and Hell stuff.”

“No, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Dad likes…butting in where he shouldn’t.” Lucifer looks at Chloe and wonders, because of the gift, because of the tether, is this all predetermined. Is that why Chloe showed up at the blue tonight?

She reaches over and touches his forearm. “I’m with you. Earth is way better.”

“Really? I would’ve thought you’d be more…disgruntled about being back.”

Chloe shakes her head. “No, not really. It’d be nice if I felt like _me_ , but what can you do?”

Lucifer grows concerned. “What do you mean you don’t feel like you?”

She waves off the comment. “I am not here to talk about that,” she says and lays a hand on his chest. “I want to get drunk. With you,” she adds, snatching the bottle from his hand. Chloe pours out two more shots and Lucifer watches her carefully. 

When she’d first arrived, asking to get drunk, he just thought it was a way of blowing off steam, but now he worries there might be something more going on. She has only been alive for a little more than a week. 

Chloe looks up at him as she hands him another shot. “Nope, don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Look worried. I am _fine_ , Lucifer. I just want to get drunk with my friend, okay?”

“Friend?” he asks her with a bit of a smile.

She shrugs. “Being part of a resurrection really brings people together.” She touches his glass with hers and throws back the shot. She is now well and sloshed.

Chloe reaches for his hand. “I want to dance,” she tells him, dragging him away from the bar.

He follows her willingly. “Detective, are you sure?”

When she turns to him, her eyes are bright—so full of life. The light from the DJ booth and the rafters bounce off her skin, giving her a sort of glow. Her hand is so warm in his as she tugs him towards her. He feels…mesmerized. She’s more beautiful now than she’s ever been before. Free, happy, carefree.

Lucifer smiles a little to himself and for a second, he just allows the warmth of her smile to rush over him.

Chloe turns fully to him in the middle of the dance floor. The song is something upbeat with a repetitive line over and over again, but he feels too entranced in her to notice. She dances in front of him, her hips moving from side to side, her hands above her head. For a moment, her smile is replaced by a serious look, but he realizes she’s taking in the music. As soon as she looks at him, she smiles again.

She holds out her hands to him and pulls him in closer. Chloe rests her hands over his shoulders as he takes her hips. She dances against him, her hips against his and it feels…wonderful.

Lucifer reaches up to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ears and she simply smiles at him.

He holds her gaze for as long as she’ll let him. She looks at him for some time and then glances around the room or stares down at the space between them. Her hands slide down from his shoulders, over his arms, and he tightens his grip, moving his hands around to rest on her lower back. She turns back to look at him and there’s something different in her eyes.

Chloe turns in Lucifer’s arms and presses her butt back against his crotch. He groans low, holding onto her hips. Her shoulder blades press against his chest and he leans down and smells oranges on her skin. Lucifer focuses on the feeling of her. Her shining through what she’s been through. He feels her hands on his, covering his hands at her hips, threading their fingers together.

It’s as if time stops and he’s drowning in her. It feels…lovely.

After a few more moments, Chloe turns to face him, smiling again. It’s like the tension has faded some, replaced by the ease of their current…friendship. Unfortunately, Lucifer is rock hard, but he certainly can’t tell Chloe that.

He leans close to her ear. “I need another drink.” He could use it as an excuse to get away from her, to cool off for a moment.

But of course she says, “Oh, me, too.”

Once again, her hand is in his and she’s leading him somewhere he will dutifully follow.

Maze rolls her eyes upon their return and just sets out a bottle again with two fresh glasses.

“She’s the best,” Chloe says. 

“Yes, well, she’s the most vicious demon in all of Hell. I couldn’t possibly come to Earth without her.” Lucifer pours out a drink for them both.

Lucifer looks away from Chloe while she sips from her glass. He needs to cool down and looking at her isn’t helping. On a typical night at Lux, he’d be surrounded by men and women. Possibly singing at his piano. Flirting, of course. And preparing to host one, or hopefully more, guests in his penthouse.

But in this moment, leaning against the bar next to Chloe is all Lucifer wants to do.

She throws back her drink. 

“You are going to regret all these drinks tomorrow,” he teases.

“So will you.”

“Actually, I won’t.” She tilts her head to the side and gives him a curious look. “I’m immune to human ailments, mostly death and whatnot, but also hangovers. Overdoses. Anything unsavory like that. I can, of course, get drunk, but it takes _a lot_ of alcohol. Judging by how I feel right now, I’m in the sweet spot for a nice little buzz.”

Chloe looks at him, amazed. “No hangovers?”

“Almost never.”

“No death.”

“Invulnerable to all types of death. I don’t bleed, unless hit by another celestial, no headaches or any other human aches. You people are always so achy. I now understand why that mulleted fellow sang about an achy-breaky heart.”

Chloe reaches out to pinch Lucifer, but he doesn’t react. He looks down.

“Surely you can think of worse, Detective.”

“Well I wasn’t about to deck you right here in the club.”

“Why not?”

She laughs and shakes her head. “Nah. I wouldn’t want to hurt that handsome face.”

“Handsome?” he asks with a quirk of his eyebrow. He leans down to rest his forearms on the bar, moving closer to her. He looks at her full lips. “Now I get to hear the truth from you.”

Chloe smirks, laying her hand on his forearm. “Maybe. At least I know I’ll get the truth from you. Right?”

“I never lie,” he says sincerely.

She quirks her mouth a little, looking down at his lips, too. Lucifer could close the distance between them in just a half a second and he dreams of what she might taste like, but he pulls himself back because she’s properly drunk and, more importantly, he wonders about her free will in all this gift and tether nonsense.

Chloe looks at him, a touch confused.

“Another drink?” he asks.

She holds out her empty glass. “I have to pee first.”

Lucifer chuckles. “Off you pop, then. I’ll wait here for you.”

He watches Chloe walk away and tries his hardest to keep his eyes north of her butt and is generally successful. She moves through the crowds and disappears. He takes a deep breath and tries to reset his equilibrium because he feels off. Chloe is very drunk, otherwise she’d definitely not be showing so much interest, but his responses are what confuse Lucifer the most. Of course he wants to have sex with Chloe; he wants to have sex with just about everyone. But was it more? It couldn’t be.

Maze takes the bottle of liquor from Lucifer’s hand, interrupting his thoughts. “You two are sickening.”

“A joy, as always, Maze. But I don’t need comments from the peanut gallery.”

He turns away from her and looks out at the club goers.

“You’re different,” Maze says out of nowhere.

Lucifer is paying attention now. He turns to look at his oldest friend. “What do you mean?”

Maze motions to where Chloe was just standing. “You’re…I don’t know. You’re not as fun, for one,” she says a little snippy. “Normally you’re chest deep in sweaty bodies, but you’re just following her around like a dog.”

“Careful, Mazikeen.”

She shrugs. “I’m just calling it like I see it.”

“Well, I hate to disagree with your very _thorough_ examination, but—”

“You want thorough?” she interrupts. “Fine. As much as it pains me to say it, you aren’t looking at her like one of your random hookups. If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you _care_ for a human. And I don’t know if it’s all this resurrection shit, but you weren’t like that with her before. She was one of your games. A conquest. But then she died.”

“She wasn’t a game,” Lucifer disagrees. “I actually enjoyed solving Jimmy Barnes’s crime with the Detective. Until she got shot, of course.”

“The Lucifer I know enjoys three things: alcohol, sex, and dealing in desires. If you enjoyed solving a crime with the Detective, then you’ve been changing for longer than I thought.”

Lucifer feels a hand on his arm. He looks over to Chloe as she reaches for her drink. “You have very fancy bathrooms here. Quite impressive.”

He gives her a little half-smile, properly ignoring Maze now. “Who knew fancy bathrooms were the key to impressing you, Detective?”

She throws back her drink and she’s officially wobbly on her feet now. He takes her by the waist so she doesn’t fall backwards. She laughs a little to herself and rights herself. “Woah.” She leans against the bar for support. “I think I want to dance some more.”

Lucifer looks at her, wondering about her steadiness. “Detective…”

“ _Please_ don’t be a buzzkill, Lucifer. Dance with me.”

He tosses back his drink. “Fine, just so I make sure you don’t fall down.”

“Mm-hmm,” she agrees with a laugh and once again he follows her out onto the dance floor.

It’s different this time, dancing with her. Lucifer takes her by the waist and he folds her hand in hers. She takes his hand and wraps her arm around his shoulders. Lucifer grins down at her and leads her around the dancefloor as she tips her head back and laughs. She jigs this way and then that way with him, barely able to keep up, but her laugh is infectious and soon enough, he’s laughing right with her.

They practically clear the dancefloor, but he doesn’t care. Eight days ago she was dead and now she’s not and that feels a bit like a miracle.

They dance for a while longer until they both have sweat on their foreheads. Lucifer leads Chloe away from the dancefloor this time. She’s breathless and happy. But it’s late and he feels drunker than normal. He shows Chloe his watch: 1:42 a.m.

“Shit. I have work tomorrow,” she says with a laugh.

“I can call you a car to take you home. Normally I’d offer a lift, but I seem to be a bit over-served.”

“Can’t I stay?”

He looks at her quickly. “In my penthouse?”

She nods, her eyes glazed as she looks up at him. “No funny business,” she laughs a little and lifts her hands into the air. She still leans into him. “I haven’t been sleeping and my house is…” she doesn’t finish her thought. “Can I stay?”

“Of course,” he agrees. He motions to the stairs. “Come along.”

Lucifer leads Chloe to his elevator and he’s not sure why he feels a little nervous, but he puts on a brave face and steps into the awaiting elevator with her. Chloe leans back against the wall, her eyes closed during the short trip. Her cheeks are flushed from the dancing and, most likely, the alcohol, but she seems happy.

Once they arrive, Lucifer allows her to walk through the doors first. She reaches down to pull off her boots. Lucifer stands beside her, in case she takes a tumble to the side. As she stands up, she uses his arm for balance. She looks around his place. The only other time she was here was the night of her resurrection. She walks over to the couch and touches the leather. She looks up at the ceiling. Lucifer’s not sure what she’s looking for, but he gives her a moment.

He removes his jacket and walks up into his bedroom, turning on lights as he goes. He removes his shirt and tosses it onto the bed. He sits down for a moment to untie his shoes and remove his socks. In his closet, he looks for something suitable for Chloe to wear to bed. He undresses completely behind the closed closet door and he can’t help but think maybe it’s a bad idea for Chloe to spend the night. How much of this is her and how much are all the other factors? 

He pulls on a pair of black, silk pajama pants. He leaves most of his suit across the chair in his walk-in closet for the dry cleaners. He just needs his shirt.

Lucifer walks back into the bedroom and notices Chloe pulling back the bedding on the right-hand side of the bed. She’s wearing his white shirt, her hair tied to the side. Her legs are bare, long and toned. His eyes slowly drag across her skin, taking in every single freckle. As he glances up, he meets her eyes. She blinks slowly at him. “I thought you might favor the left-hand side since that’s where the clock is.”

He looks to his nightstand and nods. “Yes, you’re correct.”

Chloe smiles and slides into the bed. 

Lucifer notices her jeans, tank top, and a bra piled in the corner. He smiles a little to himself. “I’ll fetch you a water,” he says and walks down the steps and to the bar. He pours himself one last drink before grabbing ice to make her water nice and cold.

When he gets back, Chloe is snuggled beneath the blankets. She looks up at him as he hands her the glass. “Thank you.”

“Drink up. I have some Ibuprofen, too, for the hangover.”

He takes care of her, grabbing her a few pills and turning down the lights until the only ones still on are the globes on either side of his bed. “Are you comfortable?” he asks her as she swallows down the pills.

She nods, setting her water on the nightstand. “Your bed is pretty incredible,” she sighs.

Lucifer climbs in beside her. “I’m glad you think so.”

“How many girls have slept in these sheets?” she asks, rolling over to look at him.

“None, actually. Freshly washed.”

She leans down to sniff the sheets. He turns off his light, leaving only hers.

Chloe curls into herself, her fists balled beneath her chin. Lucifer props his head in his hand to look down at her. She looks so small. He feels the alcohol running around in his head and it feels wrong. He can’t remember the last time he was drunk. Maybe it’s truly never happened. At least not like this. He’s never felt so fuzzy, but it’s a pleasant feeling. He’s not held down by his usual thoughts.

It doesn’t seem like the alcohol has helped clear Chloe’s head as much as Lucifer’s. “When I got pregnant with Trixie, I was so excited,” she says softly. He watches her as she continues, “I always wanted to be a mom. I wanted a daughter.” She smiles at the memory. “I dreamt of her before she was even here and she’s growing up to be such a cool kid.”

Lucifer waits for more. 

Chloe grows sad.

“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming.”

“I don’t…I’m not a good mother.”

“That’s not true, Detective.”

She licks her lips and her eyes fill with tears. “I thought I was okay, but I think there’s something wrong.”

He immediately moves closer to her. “What, Detective? I can help.”

“You can’t,” she says miserably. “Lucifer,” she looks up at him. “I asked Dan to take Trixie tonight because I couldn’t do another night alone with her.”

“Why not?” he asks without judgment.

Chloe is nearly sobbing now. “I’m wrong. I came back wrong.”

Lucifer wraps his arms around her, pulling Chloe against his chest. He presses his nose to the top of her head. She is sobbing now, so he runs his hands up and down her back. “Shh,” he whispers above her head. “You’re not wrong, you just need more time. You know you love your little urchin of a child.”

Chloe laughs briefly and then falls back into her misery. “Being with Dan and Trixie…it feels wrong. I’m not…happy with them.”

“Chloe,” he says softly. “I’m so sorry you’re not happy. I thought…we did what we thought was best bringing you back. I’m sorry if—”

“It’s not that,” she whispers against his chest. “I’m…I was happy tonight. With you.”

His heart squeezes in his chest. “I was happy, too, Detective.”

Chloe pulls back again and looks up at him. Lucifer takes in every inch of her face—the beauty mark beneath her eye, her full lips, her delicate nose. He feels her against him and his mind wanders, but he pulls away. He leans back and gives her a tight smile. 

“You should sleep, Detective.”

She curls back into herself, pulling her arms away from him and rolling away from him. Lucifer can’t tell if she’s upset with him, but the alcohol is affecting both of them and at this point, she might not even remember this moment.

Chloe reaches over to turn off her lamp and sighs. Lucifer lies back, arm overhead, and he considers apologizing to her. Perhaps telling her she’s a good mother. But everything seems wrong and forced, so he simply settles with, “Goodnight, Detective.”

He thinks she’s asleep, or ignoring him, and then a few minutes later she whispers, “Goodnight, Lucifer.”


	8. One-time use tether

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your support has been unreal and means the world to me. Thank you so very much!
> 
> There's a little foreshadowing in here, which you might think is a story error, but its not. I expect the eagle-eye readers out there to notice it from miles away!

Chloe wakes up and she’s pretty sure she’s dead again, but this time she’s in Hell.

She feels sick to her stomach. Her head thumping right behind her eyes, so when she opens them, she must immediately close them. She buries her face into the pillow and groans.

Bits and pieces from last night come back to her. She remembers early on—drinking with Lucifer, dancing with him. She shakes her head, remembering how she pressed up against Lucifer, feeling him hard against her butt. She normally wouldn’t dance like that. In fact, she can’t remember a time she’s ever really danced like that. Maybe when she first turned 18 and was invited to make appearances at clubs, but even then, paparazzi was always lingering in the shadows.

After that, Chloe remembers very little. Flashes of moments. Lucifer grinning at her, his eyes lit up and happy. She remembers dancing again, maybe, and then she remembers changing out of her clothes and putting on Lucifer’s shirt.

The one thing she wishes she couldn’t remember is crying to Lucifer about being a bad mother.

Why can’t that be what she forgets?

Chloe rolls a little, just enough to peek over her shoulder. Lucifer is gone from the bed and she feels some relief. She needs a few minutes to collect her thoughts. She lies back against the mattress and runs her fingers through her hair.

She’s embarrassed, sure, but she also thinks the best person to act a fool in front of is Lucifer. He seems nonjudgmental.

But still…she should’ve kept her mouth shut.

Chloe looks over at her phone on the nightstand and reads 6:42 a.m. She didn’t go to bed until way past two, but there’s nothing she can do about that now. She needs to get home and change and shower and wash her mouth out with…bleach maybe. Her mouth tastes like death. And she should know what death tastes like.

She smells coffee moments before the coffee mug appears in front of her face. She looks up and Lucifer is grinning at her. “Good morning, Detective.”

Chloe wraps her hands around the warm mug. “Thank you.”

Lucifer surprises her by sitting down next to her hip. 

She takes a sip of her coffee and instantly winces. “Is there booze in this?”

He chuckles. “Whoops.” He reaches over to take her coffee and hands her his. “Hair of the dog. Unless you want a little whiskey.”

Chloe practically vomits at the thought. “No. Thank you.”

Lucifer grins to himself and drinks his own coffee.

The silence between them is a little awkward. Everything about last night was so out of character. But isn’t that what she wanted? She can’t feel connected to what once made her happy and she knows last night made her happy. But she’s still Chloe. She still understands the person she was before she died. It’s hard to make excuses for her actions last night when, for the most part, it all felt…good.

Lucifer glances at her every now and then. It reminds of the night she returned, sitting on his terrace, and how he kept looking at her. She thought he was trying to be sure she was still breathing.

“You said something last night,” she begins, hoping to steer the conversation towards her comfortability.

“I said a lot of things.”

“You said something about people choosing where they go after they die. Is that true?”

Lucifer nods. “Yes. I don’t choose who goes to Hell. Azrael doesn’t choose who goes to Heaven. For me, the person just lands in Hell, in their own Hell loop and that’s that. But Azrael is given a location and she picks the person up.”

“So, that’s what happened with me? Did you see her?”

Lucifer nods his head. “She moves quick, so one moment she was there and the next she was taking you away. Well, your soul.”

Chloe looks down into her coffee mug. “Is that why I couldn’t touch anything in Heaven? Because I was just a soul?”

“Perhaps. I’ve never been very…involved in the Heaven-side of the afterlife. I understand that Heaven shifts over time. It’s always Heaven, of course, but I remember you said you had a problem with your memories,” he says. “Often times recently dead can’t take in memories because it’s too painful. Especially for someone young, like you. Over time, I’d imagine you might’ve been more cognizant of your memories. But of course, I don’t know much.”

Chloe sips her coffee. She can barely keep her eyes open. She has no idea how to get through today. A sound from her phone alerts her of a new text message. She rests her coffee in her lap and quickly reads: _I know you’re still adjusting, but I really think Trixie needs time with you tonight._

She feels that pit in her stomach again.

When she looks up, Lucifer is watching her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she says and flips her phone over. “Why were you at my resurrection?”

Lucifer seems put off from her question. He stands. He’s wearing the same low-lying silk pants from the night before and absolutely nothing on top. She can’t help but look at his chest. He turns away from her and her eyes glance along his unmarred back. She smiles a little into her coffee cup. Lucifer is good-looking, which she told him last night. She’s not blind.

He stands at the foot of the bed. “Are you unhappy that I was there?”

“No,” she states. “I just wonder why. Michael is the one who has the power to resurrect, so I wonder why you were there. And Amenadiel, for that matter. Does it usually take more than one angel?”

“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t attended many resurrections.”

“Was it because you knew me before?”

Chloe can tell Lucifer is stalling, or maybe he doesn’t like the answer. He sighs unhappily.

Normally, when she’s noticed someone is uncomfortable with her question, she stops asking. Unless, of course, it’s a suspect on one of her cases. Nothing is better won than asking an uncomfortable question, because if she asks enough, eventually she’ll receive an answer.

Lucifer looks a bit like a suspect, so she doesn’t give him a break. Plus, she deserves to know.

“I think I tether you to Earth,” he says, as if any of that makes sense.

“What?”

“I’m not sure I understand it.” He rejoins her, sitting next to her again. His eyes are focused on her, expressing confusion. “Amenadiel only told me before we brought you back. You weren’t easy to resurrect and Michael was struggling and because we have some kind of connection, he thought if I were there, I could help. 

“My blood,” he says softly, “is what brought you back. I think. Again, I’m fuzzy on the details.”

Chloe shakes her head, trying to rattle free something that makes sense. “Why am I tethered to you?”

He looks away from her. “I’m not certain, although I wonder if it even exists any longer.”

“Why wouldn’t it exist?”

“Maybe it’s a one-time use tether. I helped pull you back to Earth and then that’s it.”

Chloe looks deep inside herself for anything that might pull her towards Lucifer, but the whole idea is a little wacky. She never felt particularly connected to him when they worked the Jimmy Barnes case. Sure, they did work pretty well together, but it wasn’t like she felt…tethered or bound to him. Maybe it’s something that arose after she died, but why Lucifer? Why not literally anyone else in her life?

Unless…

“Can a human only be tethered to an angel?”

“I am not an angel,” he reminds her.

She knits her brows together. “But you are. You’re a fallen angel.”

“No wings,” he tells her, before pointing towards his back.

“Why not? Did you lose them?”

He sighs. “Well, actually, I removed them.”

Chloe’s eyes go wide. “You can just do that? What, with magic or something?”

“A very sharp blade,” he says, almost proudly.

Chloe realizes she feels better. No longer hungover. It’s as if all this talk about a tether and wings, with the actual Devil, has helped distract her enough for her body to forget about her hangover. Considering how much she drank, she expected at least two days of pain.

She’s trying to understand what being tethered to Lucifer might actually mean. Can he hear her thoughts? She can’t hear his, but… She thinks really hard—trying to convey a message to him. Over and over again in her head, she says, _“You’re not as good-looking at you think.”_ She smiles a little bit.

Lucifer narrows his eyes at her. “Do you have to…pee or something?”

She laughs a little. “No, just, trying something.” She decides to flat-out ask him. “You can’t…read my thoughts or anything, right?”

Lucifer laughs and shakes his head. “No, Detective, nothing like that. I can’t even get your desires out of you, so I doubt if I _could_ read minds, I’d be able to read yours.”

“That’s reassuring. I guess…I don’t really understand what being tethered to you means.”

“I don’t either, but once we see Amenadiel again, we can ask him.” Lucifer pauses for a second before asking, “Have you seen my brother? Since that first night?”

“No.”

“Hmm…odd.”

Chloe leans over to set her now-empty coffee cup on the nightstand. “Is that something we should be worrying about?”

“Not yet, I’d imagine. Amenadiel comes and goes. I’m sure we’ll see him.”

Chloe thinks of the endless questions she has, but she’s not sure which to ask yet. She doesn’t want to overwhelm herself with the answers.

She pulls her knees to her chest right as Lucifer asks. “Do you want to talk about what you told me last night?”

“No,” she says quickly.

He nods, but he doesn’t drop it yet. “You didn’t come back wrong.”

Chloe pushes back the covers to stand. She’s well-aware that she’s practically naked, and wearing his shirt—which now seems strangely intimate—but she doesn’t care. “What I said last night…just forget it, okay? I’m…I’m really fine. I need to get dressed and get home. I have to get ready for work and I have Trixie tonight, so…”

Lucifer stands as well. “I’ll come with you.”

Chloe turns on her heel, holding his shirt closed tightly against her chest. “What? Why?”

“I was helpful last time.”

“‘Helpful’ is a bit of a stretch. You didn’t ruin everything is more like it. Plus, you were involved in that case. That’s the only reason Monroe allowed you to follow along. Our new lieutenant, Fisher, he wouldn’t put up with that.”

Lucifer seems unaffected. “Let him be the judge, then. I’ll wear my yellow pocket square, I think. It’ll go nicely with the police tape.”

Chloe watches Lucifer as he disappears into his closet and she just rolls her eyes. There is no way in hell Lt. Fisher will approve of Lucifer—a civilian—tagging along.

* * *

An hour later, she discovers she’s wrong. Lucifer walks out of Fisher's office whistling. He meets her beside her desk. “Your new lieutenant is very generous. He shook my hand three times for saving you. What did you tell everyone around here?”

Chloe’s cheeks color. “Well, people weren’t really believing the whole ‘I can’t remember’ thing, so I sort of said that you saved me.”

“Detective, you were a cold body on the floor. How is it that I saved you?”

“I didn’t get into the details,” she admits. “I couldn’t say Dan saved me, since he’s not really in on the resurrection part,” she says low, between her teeth. “So, you were the natural choice. I played dumb, claiming I can’t recall anything, but I just know I was saved by you.”

“Detective,” Lucifer admonishes. “How am I supposed to tell the valiant story of rescuing you if I _don’t lie_?”

Chloe shrugs. “I didn’t think that far, okay? Maybe you can say you don’t remember either.”

“That would be a _lie_ ,” he reminds her.

She waves her hand at him. “Fine, then. Just say it was complicated. That’s the truth!”

Lucifer pinches the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

“You don’t have to be here,” she reminds him. “You don’t work here.”

“I’m staying,” he says resolutely.

Chloe tilts her head to the side, regarding him. She fiddles with a pen on her desk—uncapping and recapping it. “Why?”

Lucifer turns his gaze to her and he regards her warmly. “I know you don’t want to talk about what you said last night…” She looks away from him. “But it seems like you could use a friend right now. Someone who understands, or at least knows, what you’ve been through lately.”

When Chloe looks back at Lucifer, he gives her a half-smile. “But if you’d like me to leave, Detective—”

“No. Um…I’d like you to stay.”

He grins at her. “In that case, what are we working on…partner?”

Chloe begins pulling out folders as Lucifer sits down in the chair beside her desk. She starts in on the case, telling him all the details she has. Surprisingly, Lucifer seems engaged and for the better part of the morning, they go through the evidence, the witnesses, and a number of theories. For the first time since being back in the precinct, Chloe feels excited about her job.

Close to lunch, Ella interrupts with some new evidence. “Hey, I think I found something.” She holds up a baggie with a bullet inside. “So, there were two guns on scene—a shotgun and a Glock. But I found a bullet that doesn’t match either.”

“So, the shooter must’ve taken his or her gun with them?”

“I’d say so. I think we’re looking for a revolver.”

“A revolver? Interesting choice.”

Ella looks over at Lucifer and grins. “Hold on, are you Lucifer?”

He stands and grins at her. “I am.”

“Oh my god, I am so glad to meet you.” She hugs Lucifer around his waist and his eyes go a little wide. Chloe just grins a little. “You’re like Decker’s guardian angel!”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far.”

“I’m Ella Lopez. Decker has said only good things.”

Lucifer adjusts his suit jacket. “I’m glad to hear it,” he says glancing at Chloe, but she simply looks away. 

“You have to tell me the whole story. Decker has been super vague,” Ella says and gives Chloe a look. “I mean, it sounds like some straight-up zombie stuff.”

“Zombie, you say,” Lucifer chuckles. “I do know a thing or two about zombies.”

Chloe’s eyes go wide. “Zombie’s are real?” she asks Lucifer in a whisper.

“Detective,” he says, as if she’s a child who’s gotten in trouble. Lucifer takes Ella by the shoulders and turns her back towards her lab. “Let me tell you about this zombie I knew. Well, he was _playing_ a zombie in a Hell loop. So, I was just minding my own business…” Lucifer and Ella walk off towards the lab together and Ella hangs on his every word.

Chloe shakes her head and decides she needs a break. She grabs her coffee mug and crosses the precinct towards the kitchen. She’s very aware of the stares as she passes. A few officers huddle together and whisper once they think she’s out of sight, but Chloe knows. She takes a deep breath because she has no options.

What is she supposed to say? She can’t tell anyone the truth and not coming back to work wasn’t an option. So, she endures it. She knows eventually people won’t care so much, but she’s still uncomfortable. She’s a zombie to her colleagues. Or a liar. Both are bad options.

She grabs her cup of coffee and settles back into her desk to cross-check witness statements and run some background checks. Lucifer spends at least an hour with Ella, which doesn’t bother Chloe, but she works better when he’s around. When he returns to his desk, he pulls his flask from his breast pocket, a grin on his face. “Miss Lopez is delightful,” Lucifer gushes, which seems a little weird. He sits back down and looks at Chloe. “Still working the case?”

“Yeah. I’m just…a little lost.” She looks over towards the lab. “I haven’t spent much time with Ella,” she admits.

“You should! She’s a pint-sized nerd and I think you two would get along.”

“What did you tell her? About…you know.”

“Oh the old standby, ‘it’s very confusing,’ ‘too much to explain,’ yada yada. She seemed happy enough. Hopefully people will forget all about your…departure and sudden return soon enough.”

“I was just thinking that.”

Lucifer leans back to cross one leg over the other. Chloe’s phone buzzes and she looks over to read a new text from Dan. She remembers she never answered the one from this morning. _I know you’re just getting back into the swing of things, but can you confirm if Trix can stay tonight? She keeps asking me._

She flips her phone over and turns back to her computer.

Lucifer takes her phone and flips it screen-side up. By the time Chloe realizes what he’s doing, he’s already read the text preview on the screen. She snatches her phone back. “Not cool, Lucifer.”

“You don’t want time with your daughter,” he says simply.

Chloe looks around, to be sure no one heard. “I’m just…overwhelmed, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Really?”

“Detective,” he says, leaning a little across her desk. “There’s no manual for how to get through this. If you need time away from your daughter,” he whispers, “then that’s what you do.”

Chloe fists her jacket, tugging it around her middle. “I don’t _want_ time away from Trixie. I just…I don’t know how to parent her right now. How to be there for her.”

“Then let me help.”

She laughs humorlessly. “You don’t even like kids.”

Lucifer shrugs. “Your offspring is mildly entertaining and doesn’t make me want to chuck myself off a roof.”

“Wow. Thanks, Lucifer.”

“Save your sarcasm, Detective. Honestly, the urchin seems to like me a bit. Let me help.”

“How will you help?”

He shrugs. “I’ll come over. We can do dinner, play a game of some sort. I can act as a buffer.”

“I need a buffer to spend time with my own child,” she says sadly.

“No, don’t do that. You are a good mother,” he says sincerely. “You know that. But right now, you’re dealing with something extraordinary. It’s okay to receive help. It doesn’t make you any less of a good mother.”

Chloe sighs shakily. She looks over at him. “You’d really do that for me? For Trixie?”

Lucifer grins and stands. “Of course.” He buttons his suit jacket. “I will plan the whole thing.”

“Where are you going, Lucifer?”

“Target,” he says easily. “It’s a one stop shop and I have shopping to do.”

“Wha—” she manages, but then he’s gone, walking up the steps to leave the precinct.

Chloe flips her phone back over, reading the two texts from Dan. She sighs and quickly types out: _Sorry, got wrapped up in my case. Yes, Trixie can stay. I’ll be home by 5:30._

She feels momentarily better.


	9. Small doses of time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a broken record, but I keep turning. So, thank you immensely. The comments have given me so much encouragement and I've been writing like crazy lately. I'm just about done writing this story out and I am thrilled where it is going!
> 
> As for the rating, I changed it from M to E. I wrote some things later on that feel more E than M. You'll read those soon enough.
> 
> Leave a comment, should you feel inspired. I respond to all of them!

Right about now, Chloe wishes she had Lucifer’s phone number. She hasn’t heard from him since he left to go to Target—which she’s still trying to picture. 

Chloe pulls up outside of Dan’s apartment and lingers in the car for a minute. She collects herself, trying to focus on something good. She sifts through her memories and focuses on a specific one from Trixie’s sixth birthday. She and Dan had just started having problems. Chloe felt distanced from him, so she threw herself into planning Trixie’s princess party. She’d rented costumes for all the girls, spent hours baking treats, and even hired an actress to play Elsa.

The party was everything Trixie wanted. She was a ball of light the whole time, laughing with her friends and twirling in her dress. It was a perfect day.

After everyone had gone home, Dan was cleaning up and Chloe sat down with Trixie on the couch. Chloe extended her legs to rest onto the coffee table and Trixie tried to do the same, but was too short. She ended up resting her heels on Chloe’s knees. “Did you have a good day, Monkey?”

“Why do you call me ‘Monkey,’” Trixie’d asked.

“Well,” Chloe said with a big smile, “when you were a baby all you wanted was bananas. We tried rice and carrots, peas, strawberries. But you hated all of it. For about two months there, you just ate bananas. So, we started calling you Monkey and it stuck.” She looked at her daughter. “Do you wish we didn’t call you Monkey?”

“No. I like it. It’s weird now because I don’t even really like bananas.”

Chloe tickles Trixie’s sides. “I know! You’re a fussy little monkey!”

She can still hear Trixie’s laughter. Chloe smiles at the memory. It’s the strangest thing; she loves remembering moment like this, but creating new ones feels…impossible. Her hands are clammy and she feels a little flush, but she forces herself from the car.

Chloe walks up the front walk and knocks on the door. “Come on in,” Dan calls from the other side. She opens the door and Dan rushes past her. “We’re missing a shoe,” he tells her.

“A shoe,” she repeats and for a moment, she can see her life before the separation—their chaotic mornings. She and Dan working together to get Trixie ready for school. It’s sort of nice.

Trixie comes bounding into the room with one shoe on her foot. “Found it!” she says proudly.

“Where was it?”

“Under my bed.” Trixie looks over at Chloe. “Hi, Mommy.”

Chloe gives her daughter the best smile she can manage. “Hi, Monkey,” she says, in honor of the memory. “Ready to go?”

“Uh huh. Can we watch my nature show?”

Chloe looks to Dan. “Nature show?”

“ _Planet Earth_. She’s been obsessed lately. It’s on Netflix.”

“Ah, yes, sure. Whatever you like.” Chloe feels a slight sting being out of the loop. Of course, she chose it in the last week, but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to know what Trixie is into. Or maybe that’s exactly what it means. She’s more confused than ever.

Trixie gathers her backpack and her overnight bag, which Chloe takes from her hands. They both say goodbye to Dan and she realizes he might be relieved to have a night off. She’s been asking a lot of him the last two weeks.

Once in the car, Trixie is quiet, which is unusual. Chloe glances towards her daughter a few times, but Trixie just watches the world pass them by. Chloe tightens her hands on the steering wheel, wondering if Trixie is more observant of her distance than she’d previously thought.

Chloe pulls up to the house and Trixie grabs her things without a word. She waits by the door while Chloe unlocks it, but she pauses with her key just over the lock. “Everything okay?” Chloe asks.

Trixie looks up at her. “Yeah.”

But Chloe can hear the hesitation in her voice. “Trix…”

“Daddy said to go easy on you. Since you’re still adjusting.”

The way she says ‘adjusting’ with her missing teeth is adorable, so Chloe smiles. “I’d like to just get back to normal,” she tells Trixie honestly. “So, just…be you.”

A brilliant smile tugs across Trixie face and Chloe wonders if her words were a mistake.

Chloe realizes the door isn’t actually locked, so when she turns the knob it opens right up. She hears movement, music, and maybe even someone humming to themselves. Chloe puts her hand against Trixie’s chest to keep her back. Chloe reaches for her gun and practically tip-toes into the house. She rounds the corner and finds Lucifer standing in her kitchen.

“Lucifer,” she sighs, putting away her gun.

“Ah, Detective, perfect!” He grins and turns, wearing a ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron. 

“What are you doing here?”

He looks surprised. “Didn’t you invite me?”

Trixie runs at Lucifer and takes him by the waist. “Lucifer!” she smiles up at him.

“Oh, goody. Let’s uh, not stand near the flames,” he stays, twisting to get away from her.

“Trixie, why don’t you get your homework started?”

“Okay.”

Chloe walks up to the counter, which is covered in ingredients. “What are you making?”

“Spaghetti and meatballs. Homemade pasta, of course,” he motions to the strands of pasta hanging on her laundry rack. “My balls are fresh off the fry pan,” he says with a little smirk, “and I even have brownies in the oven for dessert.”

Chloe shakes her head. “I didn’t expect you to do any of this.”

He tosses some fresh basil into the spaghetti sauce. “I know, but I figured I’d take something off your plate, Detective. Make this whole evening a little easier for you,” he says quietly.

She nods and reaches out to squeeze his forearm. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Detective.”

Trixie sets a couple of notebooks and a textbook on the table. Chloe looks over at her. Typically, she’d drop everything to help Trixie with her homework, or, at the very least, they’d do their work together. Trixie working on her animals and Chloe sifting through a case, but Chloe hesitates. She wrings her hands together.

“We still have about fifteen minutes until dinner,” Lucifer says softly. “Small doses of time,” he suggests.

Chloe nods. “I…can do that.”

“Of course you can.”

So, she puts on a smile. “What are you working on, Trix?”

Trixie opens her social studies book. “George Washington.”

“Oh, I knew him,” Lucifer interjects. “Not all that good of a guy, really.”

Chloe cuts him a look. He holds up his oven-mitt covered hands and feigns innocence. Chloe takes a seat across from Trixie at the dinner table. “Tell me about George Washington.”

For the next 15 minutes, Chloe really tries to be herself. She tries to focus on Trixie, listen to what she’s saying, and engage with her daughter. She finds it difficult because half the time she’s unable to feel connected and the other half she’s berating herself for that loss of connection. It’s her fault, obviously. She died and came back wrong and now she can barely spend time with her own kid. She’s a monster.

Chloe notices Lucifer glancing over at them, but she tries her best to ignore him, Although, she’s eternally grateful for his presence. He isn’t judging her as she so clearly struggles. He doesn’t make any comments or raise an eyebrow when she says the wrong thing. He just cooks for them and when dinner’s ready, he thankfully gives Chloe a break.

“You need your greens,” Lucifer reminds Trixie as she piles her plate in only pasta and meatballs. “That’s what keeps you regular.”

“Regular, what?” Trixie asks.

“Really?” Chloe asks.

Lucifer looks almost serious. “Regular bowel movements are very important, Detective.”

“You’re gross,” Trixie tells him.

“ _Now_ you’re getting it.”

She walks to the table and Chloe just laughs a little. Lucifer looks over at her as he scoops two meatballs onto her plate. “Thank you,” she says quietly. “For being here. For cooking. I don’t think…I couldn’t do it.”

“You can,” he reassures her, “but you don’t have to do it alone.”

They share a quick smile before joining Trixie at the dinner table.

Dinner is actually…pleasant. Lucifer seems to help break the tension Chloe’s feeling and helps keep the conversation rolling. She knows he doesn’t love kids, but he keeps Trixie engaged and Chloe knows he’s doing it for her. She needs to find a way to thank him.

After dinner, Lucifer washes the dishes while Trixie dries and puts them away. “You cooked. You shouldn’t clean, too.”

“I’m happy to.”

Lucifer’s removed his suit jacket, tossed it over one of the dining chairs, and has his sleeves rolled up along her forearms. He makes jokes with Trixie and she laughs.

To any outsider, they make a happy little family, but no one can see the amount of effort both Lucifer and Chloe are putting in. Lucifer’s effort is much more apparent, and necessary, but Chloe’s is masked by her…discomfort. She smiles at Lucifer’s jokes and genuinely enjoys seeing her daughter laughing, which does feel like a step in the right direction. 

They all regroup in the living room for _Planet Earth_ and Parcheesi, Lucifer’s favorite game because, “Everyone is out to get everyone else. Oh, can I be red?”

Trixie sits next to Lucifer on one side of the table and he scoots a few inches away from her, much to Chloe’s amusement. Trixie hands Chloe the dice. “You roll first.” It’s a simple thing, just a little action, but Chloe can feel her daughter’s fingertip on her palm and it seems like a small connection. Trixie smiles easily, showing off her missing teeth and she looks as happy as Chloe has seen her.

“Thanks, babe,” she says to her daughter before rolling the dice.

Chloe knows Trixie has more homework and she should be working on her case, but it’s actually a nice distraction. The game gets pretty ruthless pretty fast as Lucifer just decimates them. He gets two of his pawns home before Chloe has even been around the board once with one of her pawns. 

“How are you so good at this?”

“Hell loop, Detective,” he says with a little grin. “This game and Clue were in many a Hell loop. Oh, and Monopoly, the very worst game there is.”

“I love Monopoly,” says Trixie.

“Lovely. We’ll play that next time.”

After the game, they all settle onto the couch together to watch Trixie’s favorite show. She sits between Lucifer and Chloe, leaning against her mother. Chloe tries to relax and smiles whenever Trixie makes a comment. Lucifer looks over every now and then, but each time she just stares straight ahead, as if to tell him she’s fine.

Chloe glances at Lucifer once when he’s not paying attention and she focuses on what she knows: Lucifer is the Devil. Amenadiel is an angel. Heaven and Hell exist and she’s been to one. When she first woke up, she wasn’t shocked by the revelations. She’s still not because something about being in Heaven makes everything she’s learned since then make sense. _Of course_ Amenadiel is an angel; _of course_ Lucifer is the Devil.

But also, she wonders about Lucifer being the Devil. He’s been so kind to her. So patient and giving, which certainly doesn’t feel devil-ish. Maybe it’s the tether he’d mentioned, which she still needs clarity on. 

A sound pulls Chloe away from the show and she sees angel wings out of the corner of her eye. 

Lucifer jumps up and walks around the couch, but he first gives Chloe a look.

“Amenadiel,” Lucifer whispers and then the two of them are out of earshot.

Trixie’s notices, of course. “Who’s that?”

Chloe turns Trixie’s face back towards the TV. “Lucifer’s brother.”

“They don’t look like brothers.”

“Adoption,” she says quickly. Chloe looks over at them as they huddle together before pushing up from the couch. “I’ll be right back.” She walks over to the whispering brothers. “What’s going on?”

Amenadiel grins. “It’s good to see you, Chloe. How are you?”

“I’m fine,” she says quickly. Amenadiel and Lucifer share a look. “What?”

Lucifer shifts on his feet. “Well, considering I can’t lie, I didn’t have the same answer when my brother asked how you are doing.”

Chloe sighs and wraps her arms around herself. “I’m…working on being fine,” she admits.

“You don’t need to be okay yet, Chloe.” Amenadiel reaches out to squeeze her upper arm. “I’m not asking for a specific answer. I just wanted to know.”

For a moment, she feels a calmness wash over her. She nods and reaches up to squeeze his hand. “Thank you.” As soon as Amenadiel drops his hand, she’s conscious again of him standing in the middle of her house. She looks over and Trixie glances their way. “I’m not ungrateful for your being here, but…we do have an audience.”

“I understand. I’ll find an easier time to visit. I’m sure you still have questions.”

“I do.”

Amenadiel nods to Lucifer, “Brother. We’ll talk soon.”

Instead of flying right out of the room, which is probably how he got in there, Amenadiel uses the back door. Lucifer shuts it behind him and turns to Chloe. “He has a nasty way of showing up at the worst time.”

“It’s fine. I’m not sure Trixie really cared.”

It grows later and Trixie yawns from the couch. Chloe is amazed at how much easier tonight has been. She wonders how much Lucifer’s presence has set her at ease. _Is that the tether thing?_ she thinks. Chloe allows Trixie 15 more minutes before she needs to get ready for bed. Luckily, Trixie is old enough to do most everything on her own, so Chloe hangs back with Lucifer on the couch. He’s quiet, which isn’t typical, but she doesn’t push him on it.

Instead, she worries about sleeping tonight. She’s exhausted, especially after being out last night with Lucifer, but she knows sleep hasn’t come easily. In fact, despite only getting four hours last night, it was the easiest she’s slept since returning.

Trixie walks back into the living room with her stuffed alien. “Can Lucifer read me to sleep?”

Lucifer glances at Chloe, who shrugs a little.

“If you insist…”

Trixie gives him a wide grin.

Lucifer pushes himself up from the couch. “I will only read to you if the book is interesting. No ponies. No rainbows or sunshine-y happiness.”

“ _Harry Potter_?” she asks.

“Oh, I believe those books have dragons. I do like a good dragon book.”

Chloe rests her head back against the couch as she listens to Trixie settle in and Lucifer read to her. His voice is quiet, but animated as he reads with character voices and everything. For someone who doesn’t like children, he’s surprisingly good with them. Trixie makes comments every now and then, but then her voice trails off. Chloe can hear how tired she in.

After a while, it gets completely quiet and Chloe looks over to watch Lucifer shutting Trixie’s bedroom door. “She’s out cold. And not because I clocked her,” he teases.

“Thank you for doing that. Thank you for everything tonight. She adores you.”

He slides one hand into his pocket. “She’s…tolerable.”

Chloe grins. “That’s high praise coming from you.”

Lucifer clears his throat and looks towards the door. “I should be going, then. You might need to actually sleep tonight.”

“Yeah…too bad the last time I slept well was when I was dead,” she jokes.

His expression turns serious. “You haven’t been sleeping.”

“It’s fine.” She motions the thought away. “I slept okay last night. Maybe I’ll sleep fine tonight.”

Lucifer looks at her for a long moment and she feels strange under his gaze. Good strange, perhaps, but it’s hard to tell. He looks at her like he’s trying to figure something out. Chloe gives him time to do-so. When he finally speaks, he surprises her. “I could stay. Just until you fall asleep.” When she doesn’t immediately respond, he adds, “If that’s something you want.”

Chloe feels instantly relieved. “You will?”

He, too, seems relieved. “Of course. I’ve been dreaming of seeing inside Chloe Decker’s bedroom,” he teases.

She stands and as she passes him says, “You perv.”

“What did you expect from the Devil, darling?”

_Darling_ , she repeats in her head before heading upstairs with Lucifer on her heels.


	10. Cosmic bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, as always, for being so supportive. Every comment and kudo just lifts me up. You're the best.
> 
> The first bit of this chapter is one of my favorite parts of the whole story, in a quiet way. I hope you feel similarly.

Lucifer sits on the edge of Chloe’s bed as she changes in her bathroom. He clasps his hands together and taps his two index fingers while he waits. He’s not nervous, necessarily, just…confused.

He’s not sure what made him offer to stay until Chloe falls asleep. Sure, he doesn’t think insomnia added to her list of current worries is helpful, but what could he possibly offer her to help her sleep better? Last night it must’ve been the alcohol. Although, that’s also still mostly unexplained. How did he get drunk? It clearly must have to do with Chloe because that’s the only factor that’s changed.

He wonders if her sleeping might have something to do with him.

Chloe steps out of the bathroom wearing an over-sized shirt and shorts, her hair tied up in a high, sloppy bun. No one would call this particular get up glamourous, but she looks striking. She seems a little nervous as she walks around him to dump her clothes in a laundry hamper. He can smell the toothpaste she’d just used and something like roses. She pulls back the covers on the right-side of the bed and it pleases him a little that she naturally gravitates to the right-side when he gravitates to the left.

“If you want to go…” she begins, but doesn’t finish.

“I said I’d stay.”

Lucifer stands up. He’s removed his shoes, which feels strangely intimate—a ridiculous thought. They were both much more naked last night. Chloe fiddles with her phone, plugging it in to charge it, and then sets it on the nightstand. She slides down under the covers while Lucifer stretches out on the bed next to her. He glances at her right as she turns off the lamp beside her bed.

It’s early—just 9:42 p.m., but he doesn’t judge her for the early bedtime. She sighs softly in the dark and he hears her rustling. His eyes take a moment to adjust, but as they do, he can tell she’s turned over to face him. He can’t tell if her eyes are open are not, but he takes the chance that they are and turns towards her, moving just a few inches closer.

Lucifer feels her hand in the dark as she reaches out for him. Her fingers clasp his and he feels his heart hammering in his chest. The light streaming in through the window over the bed catches her eye at the right angle and he knows now that she is looking at him.

“I won’t leave until you’re asleep, Chloe.”

That seems to ease her. She squeezes his fingers once before tucking her chin down towards her chest. He wants to reach out and touch her hair, push it back from her face, but he doesn’t dare. She breathes evenly as he runs his thumb over the back of her hand. He wonders if it’s nightmares that wake her up and memories that keep her up. He wonders how much she’s truly slept since returning and why he didn’t notice.

Lucifer feels badly about leaving her to her own devices for a week. She must’ve been so confused and he just dumped her off with her family—people who don’t know what really happened to her. It must’ve been isolating. Lucifer regrets whatever decision was made to leave her on her own and vows quietly not to do it again. He would promise it to her face, except he knows he can never promise her anything again after the debacle last time.

After some time, her grip on his hand goes slack and her breathing is deeper. But he waits. He doesn’t want her to wake up without him by her side. He keeps stroking her hand and he watches as much of her face as he can see in the dark. She’s so relaxed and she looks peaceful. Not like when she was dead, which was almost a horror movie. No, here now, she looks…angelic.

Lucifer looks away at the thought because it’s…too much.

He lies beside her for a few hours, until well after midnight. When he does leave, he pulls the covers up over her shoulder and he finally tucks her hair behind her ear. “Goodnight, Chloe,” he whispers before leaving her in dreamland.

Lucifer makes sure to lock the door behind him as he leaves the Decker household. He makes it to the street before he hears the familiar sound of wings.

“Stalking much, brother?”

Lucifer turns to Amenadiel, who walks up to stand beside him. “I thought you’d never leave.”

“Yes, well, I had a vow to uphold.” Lucifer slides a hand into his pocket. “You made quite the entrance before. What were you thinking?”

“I didn’t know her child was home. I just got back and I needed to speak with you.”

“What do you mean you just got back?”

The brothers walk through the quiet neighborhood. Neither asked for the walk, but they naturally walk together.

“I was in the Silver City. I had some questions about your gift and tether and others about the resurrection. Something wasn’t sitting right with the whole thing.”

Lucifer looks to his brother. “What do you mean?”

“Michael has never had trouble resurrecting anyone before, yes?” Lucifer nods yes. “So, why Chloe? Yes, a longer time had passed between her expiration and her resurrection, but that hardly seemed to warrant your blood. I got to asking questions if celestial blood had ever been necessary before. There are a few cases here and there, but they’re from eons ago.”

“What was the nature of those cases?”

Amenadiel sighs. “It’s hard to get a straight answer because the humans affected are now long dead and the celestials are tight-lipped as you can imagine. But, from my research, it seems those humans and celestials had similar ties to yours and Chloe’s.”

“You mean the gift and tether. I had thought maybe the tether was gone.”

“Why did you think that?”

Lucifer pulls his flask from his breast pocket. “I’d imagine the tether is in place to bring the Detective back to Earth and once successful, it’s gone.” He takes a sip of whiskey and offers some to Amenadiel, who simply turns it down.

“I’m not sure that’s correct. From the measly writings I was able to access, the tether is life-long.”

“I still don’t understand it.”

“I do believe that’s _why_ you were able to help bring Chloe back and maybe that’s why Michael couldn’t do it alone. You were already tethered to Chloe.”

“I don’t understand when it formed. The tether. I didn’t feel like this before.”

Amenadiel stops and faces his brother. “Feel like what? And before what?”

Lucifer sighs, realizing he’s put his foot in his mouth. He takes another mouthful of whiskey. “Before her death,” he says, getting the easy part out of the way. Amenadiel waits for the rest of it. Lucifer begins walking again to avoid the unnecessary eye contact. “I feel…protective over the Detective. I want to be there for her. Make all this easier for her. I felt it that first night, but it feels stronger every day.”

Amenadiel hums in agreement. “Yes, I can see that.”

“Can you?”

“I wasn’t spying, but…staying with her until she fell asleep. That’s very unlike you.”

It’s Lucifer’s turn to stop. “I _will_ lock you up in Hell if you ever spy on me again.”

Amenadiel nods. “Yes, I knew you wouldn’t like that.”

Lucifer begins walking again. He ignores the last bit and continues. “I worry that those…feelings are the gift or the tether. I was speaking to Linda about it. She believes that maybe Chloe herself isn’t a gift, but a lesson.”

“Father does appreciate his lessons.”

“Exactly what I said. When has Father ever given any of us a gift?”

“In the beginning of time,” Amenadiel offers. 

Lucifer motions the idea away. “Sure, fine, but that was millennia ago. I doubt Father would ever bestow a gift upon me, so I think Linda might be right.”

“The question is, what are you to learn?”

“I’m not sure.”

The brothers continue walking along in silence for some time. Lucifer is thinking about what he might be tested on, but the list is too long. Amenadiel is probably thinking similarly, Lucifer decides. Of all his siblings, Amenadiel has always been the most…thoughtful. He’s always been able to sort through problems. If not for being so damn pious, they might actually be friends.

They reach a dead end and turn back around. “I told the Detective about the tether.”

“How did she respond?”

“Fine. All her responses are just…fine.”

“But you said she’s not doing well.”

“I don’t want to speak for her but, no, she is struggling.”

“I’ve never known any resurrected humans to struggle. Maybe she was dead too long. Most humans just get a glimpse of Heaven or Hell. Perhaps her spending days there—lifetimes in her understanding of time—damaged her.”

“She’s not _damaged_.”

Amenadiel sighs. “Poor choice of words. I’m sorry.”

They take a right-hand turn. “I think it’s more than that. But I can’t put my finger on it.”

“Why did you tell her about the tether?”

“She had questions on her resurrection and that seemed like the easier of the two to explain. I doubt the Detective will love the idea of her being a gift for me. We still hardly know one another.”

Amenadiel gives his brother a look. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

Lucifer narrows his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“It seems a lot has changed in the week I’ve been gone. You had no interest in even resurrecting Chloe Decker and now you’re spending the evening with her and her child. Making brownies and reading her daughter to sleep.”

“You must stop spying or I really will rip your balls off and let Maze rip off all your appendages. _All_ of them,” Lucifer threatens.

Amenadiel holds up his hands. “I won’t do it again. I’m not in the habit of spying on you. Tonight it just felt…necessary. To understand the situation.”

Lucifer thinks he can ignore his brother’s assessment, but something nags at him. “I wonder…” he says slowly. “How much of that is the gift and tether? I’d assume all of it. Since Father created the Detective to be a gift to me and seemingly because the tether bonds us, I’d assume it’s all connected and my feelings aren’t authentic.”

“Why couldn’t those things exist and your feelings be authentic?”

“Until we know more about the celestial bonds between the Detective and I, I will just assume all of it is because of those bonds.”

“Really, Luci? All of your feelings are just because of some cosmic bond?”

They’ve stopped walking again and Lucifer groans as his brother tries to figure him out. “In all the years I’ve been alive, millennia, all of time, I’ve never shown…kindness to a human. Not like this. So yes, any emotions I offer Chloe Decker, I’ll just assume are part of Father’s doing.”

“But you didn’t think that before. When you promised to help her sleep. Why do you think it now?”

“You have no idea what I was thinking,” Lucifer seethes.

“I know you better than you might think. You would never offer Chloe that kindness if you thought it was tainted by Father.”

Lucifer shakes his head. “I do not want to be having this conversation any longer.”

“Fine,” Amenadiel folds quickly, “but just hear me out on one thing.” He holds Lucifer’s gaze for a moment longer. “Father might’ve created Chloe as a gift—or maybe a test—and you may be tethered to one another, but have you ever thought that maybe that’s allowed you to feel safe to explore your emotions? Maybe this isn’t about anything celestial, but about a man finally tapping into feelings and the woman who brings them out of him.”

A beat passes before Lucifer starts laughing. “Oh brother, you are quite a sap, aren’t you?”

Amenadiel shakes his head. “I know you might think that, but we both know you would never do something just to do it. You make your own choices, brother. Chloe is one of your choices.”

“Fine, I’ll mull that over. But for now, I’d like to get back to my life.”

“Sure,” Amenadiel motions for Lucifer to move on his way. “I would like to speak more with Chloe, when the time is right for her. Would you have a problem with that?”

Lucifer stops. “I’m not the Detective’s keeper. Talk to her whenever you’d like.”

With that, Lucifer leaves Amenadiel behind. He drove over with Chloe, so Lucifer walks far enough away to call for an Uber to take him back to Lux. Despite the hour, Lux is still busy, so Lucifer walks in and heads down into his club. He was just partying with the Detective last night, but that feels like days ago. One of the waitresses meets him with a drink, which he takes gratefully.

Lucifer heads towards the bar, hoping to have a second or two with Maze, but she’s absent from her usually spot. Lucifer waits for a few moments for her, but Maze must be off tonight; he doesn’t keep up with her schedule like he probably should. After another moment, he walks down through the crowds, greeting people as he goes.

He drinks his first drink fast, but the second a little slower. He eyes his piano and thinks about sitting down and offering up a little tune, but he restrains himself. The idea of playing in the quiet of his penthouse seems much more appealing. In fact, being anywhere but Lux right now seems much more appealing, mostly because he’s reliving last night.

Lucifer looks at the dancefloor, where Chloe pressed up against him. Just the thought makes him tingle a little, but he forces those thoughts away. He tries to force all thoughts of Chloe away, which only makes him more aware of her. He wonders if she’s sleeping fine. He wishes, for the briefest of seconds, that he’d stayed with her. Just to bring her some comfort.

The loud music and the obvious looks he’s receiving from a few of the women in Lux make Lucifer take a step back. He’s never been so…uninterested in his own lifestyle before. Lucifer downs his drink and declines the next round from one of his kind waitresses. He walks upstairs and down the hall to the elevator. As soon as the doors shut, it’s mostly silent.

When Lucifer reaches his penthouse, he sighs in relief. He pours a drink and sits down at his piano. He can’t stop thinking about Amenadiel’s words, Chloe’s hand in his, even the little urchin’s smile when he agreed to read to her. Just three weeks ago, Lucifer would’ve detested this entire evening and—save for the Amenadiel parts—he rather liked how he spent the last seven or so hours.

Lucifer touches the keys to his piano and feels an instant connection. He closes his eyes and the room fills with the music of Bach. His thoughts wash away and he just feels the music. He feels grounded and secure as he plays the works of great composers and right now, Lucifer needs to feel a familiar connection because the rest of his life is making him feel a bit lost.


	11. Good cop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a big chapter. It sets up a major storyline for the rest of this fic. Everything has a reason, just remember that.

Chloe sleeps, but she wakes up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep. She lies in bed staring at the ceiling until her alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m.

Trixie is in a good mood once she awakes and Chloe tries to match her daughter’s mood, but she feels a weight in her chest again. Chloe makes pancakes, though, something she knows Trixie absolutely loves. Chloe’s trying and it’s the best she can do.

As Chloe makes the pancakes, Trixie finishes her homework from last night and it feels almost normal.

Chloe drops Trixie off at school and makes the drive into the precinct. She thinks about her case as she drives, a good distraction from all the other heaviness that has been weighing on her.

What she knows to be true is: Eli Marshall-Griffiths was killed in Sam Cobb’s apartment. Sam is seemingly innocent and Eli is allegedly not a drug user and was just visiting Sam’s apartment to see his friend Sam, but he showed up early. But Sam knew Eli was coming over, which meant he could’ve arranged someone to kill Eli.

For a second, Chloe feels good at her job. Critical thinking, putting the facts together.

She pulls into the precinct excited for the day.

Chloe walks in and immediately heads to Dan’s desk. Her colleagues look her way as she passes, because she’s still the department zombie, but she doesn’t notice. For a second, it feels like something she used to love—something familiar and comforting—is giving her joy once more.

Dan sits behind his desk with his ear pressed to his cell phone. He squeezes a blue stress ball— _“Blue balls, Daniel?”_ Lucifer might ask—and nods his head to whoever is on the other end of the call. He looks up at Chloe and grins a little, motioning to give him one second, but she’s enthusiastic, so she rolls on her feet, from heel to toes, waiting almost impatiently.

“Uh-huh, sure,” he says.

Chloe tries to calm herself down. _It’s not a big deal_ , she tells herself, but it feels like a big deal to feel that spark again.

Dan reads her like a book and says, “Look, I’m going to have to call you back, okay?”

A few more seconds go by and then finally, “Sure, after lunch.” He ends the call and looks up at Chloe. “What’s up, Chlo?”

“We need to pull Sam Cobb’s phone records and bank statements. He knew Eli was coming over and he had plenty of time to plant someone there to kill Eli and have his alibi at the bar.”

Dan seems a little uncomfortable. He leans over and holds up a folder. “I already did that.”

Chloe deflates some. “Oh.”

“Sorry.”

“No, no. It’s good.” She reaches for the folder. “Find anything interesting?” She flips through the first few pages and scans through the information, but she can’t shake how quickly she went from feeling good at her job to feeling terrible. Dan’s eight steps ahead of her. Actually, Dan’s three blocks ahead.

“We don’t see any usual bank information. Bills, fast food places, and a lot of cash taken out, but no lump sum or anything. His phone records are more interesting. He’s been texting with a guy named ‘Sly’ and they planned for meetups almost every day for a week leading up to Eli’s death. Their last text was eight minutes before the 9-1-1 call came in from the downstairs neighbor, which was sent from Sly to Sam and all it said was, ‘News soon.’”

Chloe flips forward to the texts and sees the ones highlighted. “Cool, thanks, Dan.”

As she begins to walk away, Dan stops her. “Hey, how did last night go?”

“Good,” she says with a small smile. “I think Trixie had fun. Surprisingly, I think Lucifer had fun, too.”

“Lucifer?” Dan asks. He shakes his head a little. “He was there?”

Chloe closes the folder and looks at Dan. “He was. Is that a problem?” She’s not sure why she goes instantly defensive, but she does.

“Just…didn’t know you two were close.”

She doesn’t know what to say to that. She can’t possibly tell Dan about her feelings lately and she can’t tell Dan that Lucifer makes things better somehow. So, she just shrugs and holds up the folder. “Thank you for this. Very helpful.”

Chloe successfully walks away this time and settles into her desk. She goes through the motions of booting up her computer and checking her messages, but she’s back to feeling void of anything. No, not void of anything—void of love for her job. She can’t change how she feels, so she does her best to just focus and feel thankful that her colleagues—Dan specifically—are good at their job.

She remembers the day she became a detective. She’d been working her own cases on the side, trying to work some cold cases, and helping Dan with his investigations, but she didn’t think it was going to happen for another year. She’d taken time off after having Trixie and that’d put her behind, but all her hard work paid off the day Monroe asked to see her.

It was a Friday afternoon and Chloe was feeling anxious because Trixie had had a meltdown in daycare after a kid had broken her toy, and Chloe wanted to be there, but she couldn’t leave work because of a broken toy. It was irrational.

Chloe sat down before Lt. Monroe and that’s when she delivered the good news. “You’ve made detective, Officer Decker.”

Those words rang through her ears like magic.

“I did?”

The Lieutenant stood and held out her hand. “Welcome to homicide, Detective Decker.”

Besides Trixie, it was the single most gratifying moment of her life. So why does she feel so distanced from that gratification?

Chloe pushes those negative thoughts away because she’s not getting anywhere with them. She has no idea why she’s feeling this way and maybe she never will, so all she can do is try to fix it. And right now, the fix is being a good cop.

She focuses on her work for the next couple of hours. She tries to think of the big picture before digging into the details, but as Dan and Ella drop more and more findings on her desk, Chloe realizes she needs to get into the minutia of it all. She digs into the victim’s past, the 9-1-1 caller’s past, trying to see things she might normally ignore. She tries her best to sift through as much information as she can.

Her phone beeps at one point and she turns it over to read: _Guess who is a modern devil?_

She can’t help but feel relieved. _You bought a phone_ , she types back to him and then adds in a second text: _Should I save your number as Lucifer or the Devil. Or is it The Devil?_

He texts her a laughing emoji and she realizes Lucifer is an emoji kind of guy. _King of Desire._

_You wish._

_What are you doing?_ he asks after a few minutes.

_Working. Trying to._

_Boring._

Another text comes in, but Lt. Fisher approaches her desk. “Hey Decker, you have a minute?”

Chloe looks up, surprised. She’s managed to put off any real conversation with Fisher all week, but the look on his face—a look she’s been trained to understand—tells her this particular meeting might be a longer conversation.

“Sure.”

She stands, leaving her phone face down on her desk, and follows Fisher through the precinct and into his office. He shuts the door.

“How’s it going?” he asks as casually as possible when asking a pointed question.

Fisher is a young lieutenant—maybe in his early 40s. He proudly shows off pictures of his wife and two daughters all across his desk and the bookshelves on one wall. He dresses casually in the precinct—jeans four of the last five days. His hair is a little too long and he seems to pal around with his officers. 

But Chloe knows his type.

He _wants_ to appear like a friend, but his first motivator is always his career and his position.

Chloe holds her hands in her lap. “It’s…going,” she says, reminding herself to choose her words wisely.

Fisher walks around his desk and sits behind it. She’s a little surprised, expecting him to maybe take the seat beside her or lean against the desk, still trying to appear casual, but maybe her reading on him isn’t fine-tuned enough yet.

“You took on a case.”

“I did. Is that okay?”

He pauses for a moment too long, so Chloe knows his answer. “I think it was too soon.”

It feels like a punch to her gut when she was already feeling inadequate. “Oh.”

“I hear you’re good, Decker. Very good. I’ve read your case files and I’ve seen your sats, but these are extenuating circumstances and I think you’d agree that if it were one of your colleagues, you’d be pushing for them to have some more desk time.”

He’s right, of course, which is frustrating. Chloe can’t do much else but agree. “You’re right.”

“I’ve asked Dan to take the case. I know you two were once partners and he’ll do the work like you would. I’m hoping that’s a meaningful compromise.”

“I trust Dan.”

Chloe would normally be offended by her male boss handing her case away to her male colleague—even if it is Dan—but for once she actually understands the shift. She isn’t being effective. She’s had three days on this case now and only _just_ thought about pulling the apartment owner’s phone logs and financials? She’s not a great cop right now.

When Chloe looks at Fisher again, she realizes he’s not done. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

He nods. “An inquiry.”

“An inquiry,” she repeats. “Into what?”

“Your resurrection.”

She feels her face go bright red and wishes she could stick her head in the sand. “My what?” Her voice sounds small.

“I’m not sure what else to call it,” he says with a half-smile and Chloe realizes it’s just a name. Unless Lucifer or Amenadiel told him—or maybe Michael—he wouldn’t know. Not that he’d believe any one of them. He grows serious again. “It’s coming down from the top. Right now, it’s just the Commissioner, but if this thing snowballs, we could expect the Feds in here.”

“The Feds? Why?”

Fisher leans forward, folding his hands together. “You died on the scene, Decker. Any officer who dies on the scene must be surveyed and there’s a report. We file that report through the police commissioner’s office and never once has the officer just come back from the dead. There are questions now regarding why that report would be filed. Why there’d be a funeral and a blurb in the newspaper about the loss of Detective Chloe Decker. It’s a PR nightmare and since you have no information, we’re going to have to do some digging.”

Chloe sits back in the chair. She doesn’t know what to say. She certainly can’t tell Fisher about her actual resurrection, but she also can’t allow some inquiry because they’ll never let her get away with the nonsense she’s been spewing. And now that she’s brought Lucifer into it by telling everyone he saved her. She was dead. Long dead and there’s no way to explain it.

She wonders if there’s a file somewhere with her autopsy information. Did she have an autopsy? Was she embalmed? Suddenly, Chloe feels hot. She feels a tightness in her chest. She grips the arms of the chair.

Fisher notices immediately. “Decker? Are you okay? Is there something you wanted to tell me?”

She doesn’t know what to say, but the first thing that comes out is, “Lucifer didn’t save me.”

He leans back. “Then why did you tell everyone that?”

“I didn’t have answers and I thought saying someone saved me might…” she shakes her head. “I don’t know, Lieutenant. It was wrong and I’m sorry to have distorted the case. I have no answers for you.”

Fisher nods. He seems unhappy with her answers, but he doesn’t give her grief. “Until this inquiry is over, you’re on leave,” he says rather abruptly. She doesn’t have time to answer him. “No work until the Commissioner’s office can get in here and do all their interviews. You, and Lucifer, will need to be available for interviews. Can I trust you to relay this information to him?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Fisher pauses and then says. “I meant what I said, I think you’re a good cop, but if you’re hiding something, I will find out what that is.”

She takes a page from Lucifer’s book and doesn’t lie, which means she just stays quiet.

Fisher stands, so Chloe does the same. “Look,” he says now, a little low. “This is standard procedure. If nothing fishy happened, you’ll be protected. But, if you know something, you should just come clean, Chloe.” So she was right. He does like playing the chummy card.

Chloe gives him a tight smile. “If I remember something, you’re the first to know.”

“Great,” he says with a sigh and then motions to the door.

Chloe leaves Fisher’s office without another word. She really just wants to get back to texting Lucifer, or maybe she needs to see him.

Dan cuts her off on her walk back to her desk. “Fisher told me about the case swap only a few minutes before he called you into that meeting,” he says quickly. “You know I’d never step on your toes, Chlo.”

“I’m not mad at you,” she tells him with complete honesty.

“You’re not?”

“It’s the right call.”

When Chloe reaches her desk, she sees the half dozen texts from Lucifer, but Dan is still standing in front of her. She holds her phone close to herself. “Is there something else?”

Dan shifts his weight on his feet. “Well, the inquiry…”

“So everyone knows?” she asks with a sigh.

“No. Just the officers involved. I was first to the scene after you were shot.”

Chloe pauses for a moment. “You were?”

“Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t know that part, since you were already…” But he stops. Dan runs his hand over the back of his head and down his neck. He looks around before leaning closer to Chloe. “Look, this whole inquiry is going to turn this department upside down. If you know what happened, Chloe, you can tell me. I can help soften the blow.”

She looks at Dan—sure, steady Dan—who she’d bet her life on. But she can’t tell him something like this. He’ll never understand. She can’t turn his world upside down. “I have nothing to tell you, Dan.”

But inside, she’s panicking. She can’t allow this inquiry to go on.

Fisher steps out of his office and hovers, watching Chloe. She looks down at her desk, collecting the last few folders on her case. She hands them to Dan. “I think Sam Cobb is the guy. I think he hired someone, but I don’t know why. Tell me you’ll really look into him.”

“Of course. We already are.”

Chloe nods. She thinks about her other responsibilities. “I hate to ask…”

“I’ll take Trixie.”

“I hate doing this to her,” Chloe says sadly and she realizes it’s true.

Dan reaches out and stroke Chloe’s arm. “It’s okay. Just, will you promise me one thing?”

“Sure.”

“Come to dinner a few nights a week. Help her with her homework. Maybe read her to sleep.”

Chloe nods. “I can do that,” she says quietly. She looks over at Fisher again and begins to gather her personal items. “I have to go.”

Dan steps out of her way. “You’ve got this, Chloe.”

She walks past a few colleagues looking her way. She notices Ella give her a little wave from her lab, so Chloe returns the gesture. She meets Fisher at the elevator. He holds out his hand and she doesn’t need to ask. Behind the cover of a frosted glass wall, she hands Fisher her gun and badge. He gives her a nod. Chloe says nothing else and steps into the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed, consider leaving a comment or a kudo. I have been updating very quickly, but I always answer all the comments you leave me and I read all the names who leave kudos. Thank you for the support!


	12. Growing pains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so humbled by the incredible support for this story and my writing. Thank you a million times over!

Chloe calls Lucifer on her drive over from the precinct, but he doesn’t answer. She worries at her steering wheel, but she’s not sure what she’s most worried about. _The inquiry_ , she tells herself, but then quickly followed is the reminder that she no longer has her gun and badge. She’s effectively not a cop.

Her hands shake.

Since she was 19, she had one goal: become a cop and then a detective to put away men like the man who killed her father. But right now, she’s not a good cop. She’s been lying—omitting more information than she could even compile. She’s lied to Dan’s face multiple times. She’s withholding valuable information and Dan’s right, she’s brought the hammer of the Commissioner’s office down onto the precinct.

Maybe Chloe shouldn’t be a cop any longer.

She pulls up in front of Lux and even in its off hour, a valet approaches. She climbs from her car.

“Ma’am?” he asks politely.

“Chloe Decker. I’m not sure how long I’ll be.”

He nods and tears off a ticket to hand her. She pockets it and hands him her keys.

Chloe walks through the front door—no line at this hour—and walks right into Lux. There are a few people sitting at the bar and a few more at tables around the floor, but Lux is only catering to the most lost souls. She feels welcomed.

She stands at the balcony and looks over, checking for Lucifer, but once she realizes he’s not below, she heads for the elevator to his penthouse. She tries to call him once more, so she doesn’t just show up, but he doesn’t answer. _So much for having a cellphone._

The elevator doors open to Lucifer’s penthouse and she hesitantly walks in. “Lucifer?” she calls out. Her boots create a steady clicking sound on the floor as she walks deeper into his place. She calls his name again. She feels like an intruder, which she is, but she doesn’t know where else to go. She keeps walking along and then notices his phone on the coffee table and she sighs.

Chloe looks around the space, which is fiercely masculine and screams wealthy bachelor. She tips her head up to look at his ceiling. It’s the first thing she saw when she woke up and initially it brought her a sense of calm, but right now she’s feeling anything but calm.

She can’t just hang around in Lucifer’s penthouse all day, but she decides to give him a few minutes.

Turns out, even that was too long.

A few seconds pass before the elevator opens and Lucifer steps out, wearing an immaculate dove gray suit, black shirt, and red pocket square. His expression changes when he notices her standing in the middle of his living room. “Detective,” he says with his characteristic grin. “Was I expecting you?”

She motions to his phone. “I called a few times.”

“Ah. I’m still getting used to the bloody thing.” He crosses the room to pick up his phone. He looks and turns the phone to her so she can see her two missed calls. “Yup, checks out.” He pockets the phone and regards her. His eyes flicker across her face and suddenly his expression changes again. “Are you okay, Detective?”

It’s then that she feels the emotion in her throat and she reaches to curl her fingers around his forearm just as he reaches for her. “Detective,” he says softly and she presses herself into his chest. His arms wrap around her hesitantly, but eventually he’s fully enveloped her. He doesn’t say anything, simply runs his hands down along her hair and then her back, drawing comforting circles. She tightens her grip and feels the tears fall.

Lucifer rests his cheek against the top of her head. As she cries, he says to her, “It’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s okay, Detective.”

She’s not sure how long she cries into his chest, but Lucifer never pulls away. He spends time comforting her, his arms sure and strong around her. When she finally calms, she pulls back enough to look up at him. He offers her a slight smile before pushing her hair behind her ears. 

“I’m okay.”

“You’re okay,” he agrees.

Chloe takes a step back, effectively leaving his embrace. “I…I need a minute to freshen up.”

Lucifer motions towards his bathroom and she turns away and walks up the steps towards his bedroom. She looks like a watery mess. Her eyes are puffy and her skin is red. She wipes the lingering tears from the corner of her eyes and uses a little cold water to help her flaming skin. She feels so ridiculous crying to him like that, but it wouldn’t be the first time.

When Chloe emerges from the bathroom, Lucifer stands near his piano with a drink in hand. She notices the second drink atop the piano.

Chloe walks towards him and he doesn’t look at her with pity. He offers her a warm grin and motions to the drink. “If you’d like it. Don’t feel—”

She takes the drink and swallows two mouthfuls. “Alright then,” he chuckles.

Lucifer waits for Chloe to say something. She has a lot to say, but she starts with the most pressing problem. “The police commissioner is running an inquiry on my sudden not-deadness,” she begins and she tells Lucifer the whole thing. He listens intently, draining his glass and pouring out another drink, but hanging onto every word. Chloe sighs a lot as she tells him all she knows, realizing he is her one confidant in this entire world. She ends the story with her being relieved of her duties—her gun and badge, too—and a warning about the inevitable. “These guys are good, Lucifer. They’ll figure it out.”

“They’ll figure out that two angels and the Devil body snatched you and resurrected you?”

When he says it that way, she understands that no, they probably won’t ever figure it out.

Which is worse.

“Lucifer, if they don’t get some kind of answers, that could be the end of my career. No one in that precinct is going to let me get away with ‘I don’t know anything’ for very long. It only took them five days,” she says with a wave of her hand. “I couldn’t even lie you into the story as my cover. In fact, that was probably idiotic because they’ll question you and you can’t lie.”

She begins pacing. Lucifer nods, “Well, that may be a problem.”

“You think?” she laughs humorlessly.

Lucifer reaches to stop her as she paces. His fingers curl around her elbow. She stops and looks at him. “We can figure this out.”

“How?”

He drops his hand from her and she has a moment when she wishes he wouldn’t. “All my siblings have…certain talents. I have a brother, whom I haven’t seen since I’ve fallen, but Zachriel is good with…adjusting memories.”

“Adjusting how? Like erasing?”

“It could be or it could be the planting of a different story. It’s finicky though, as I understand it. The closer someone is to the memory, the more could go wrong.”

“So, like Dan, for example,” she says, trying to work it out. She sets down her glass and talks with her hands. “Dan was there right after. Changing his memory would be…”

“Nearly impossible.”

Chloe stops and releases a deep breath. “Really?”

“I’d imagine so. Zachriel is the expert, but as I understand it—the commissioner, your new lieutenant, Ella—it’d be easy because they weren’t there. But anyone on the scene would be difficult. Dan, nearly impossible because of his connection to you. Zachriel really is a little menace. When we first came into existence—”

“Lucifer,” she interrupts.

“Right, later.”

“Can you ask Zachriel for his help?”

At this, Lucifer sighs. “Not likely. He has to deal in memories all the time, usually to remove humans having seen celestials, but the work of detangling memories means he sees more than he’d like.” She gives him a look. “Plainly, he doesn’t like humans because of all the things he’s witnessed.”

Chloe runs her hand through her hair. “Okay, but could you try?”

“Most of my siblings ignore my calls. For some reason they don’t love associating with a fallen brother.” Chloe deflates, but then Lucifer says, “I could try and call him. I could ask Amenadiel to try. We should probably bring my brother into the fold. I should tell Michael, as well, but I’d love for that piece of—”

“Lucifer,” she interrupts again. “Please focus.”

He throws back his drink. “Yes, yes, alright. How long do these matters usually take?”

Chloe shrugs. “I’ve never been a part of an inquiry like this. I remember there was one regarding the take down of a drug kingpin maybe five years ago. The commissioner thought excessive force was used, which resulted in the death of two of the drug mules. That investigation took maybe a month.”

“A month,” he repeats. “Well, that should give me plenty of time to work on my calling skills.”

Lucifer presses his hands together and closes his eyes. Chloe watches him, interested that prayer actually works. She always thought it was just…a thing to do. Only a few moments pass until Lucifer says, “Nothing.”

“That’s it?”

He sighs. “I’ll try again later, but continually calling isn’t the answer. A pissed off angel is spiteful. I could tell you stories…but not right now,” he says as he reads the room. “I will work on this, Detective. I’ll drag Amenadiel into the fold. He has a gentler touch with our siblings.”

Chloe feels a little more relieved. She still feels cut off at the knees, but she trusts Lucifer.

She sits down on the piano bench and hunches her shoulders over as she leans forward, elbows to knees. “I feel…so lost,” she admits. “I’m not this person,” she adds, looking up at Lucifer. For the first time, it’s not the booze talking. It’s not her crying after a dozen shots and the thump of music in her chest after dancing all night. 

“I’m not dishonest. I’m not a bad partner or parent. I don’t…know how this happened.”

Lucifer looks at her and she can see something akin to helplessness in his eyes. “You’ve been back less than two weeks, Detective. It’s growing pains.”

“Tell that to the people in my life who have no answer for what happened to me. Did I tell you my mom is telling all her friends I’m some miracle? She won’t shut up about it. She’s practically shouting it from the rooftops.”

“You are a miracle,” he tells her.

Chloe’s eyes turn up to Lucifer’s again. She watches the small movements of his mouth, his eyebrows, and his eyes as she looks from her to his drink, back to her again.

“I don’t feel like a miracle.”

He smiles ever-so-softly. “One day you’ll understand.”

“When?”

“The day Azrael returns for you. After a long, long life. You’ll understand then.”

“That feels like a long time from now.”

He chuckles. “Yes, it would for you.”

Chloe sighs and reaches over to run her fingers along the piano keys, not actually adding any pressure, but just feeling their hardness beneath her fingertips. It’s something to do. “I can’t imagine living as long as you have. Especially down in Hell. What finally brought you here?”

His expression tightens. “I have…many reasons.”

“You won’t tell me? Is it bad?”

“Not bad,” he says. “It’s hard to explain, but…I’ll try.” Lucifer moves around her, taking the other side of the bench. He sets his glass atop the piano and glances at her. They’re shoulder-to-shoulder. Lucifer begins playing something low and slow. His fingers move gracefully over the keys. “I was the black sheep. The King of Desires,” he teases, like in his text earlier.

Chloe smiles and goes back to watching his long fingers dance over the keys. “I pushed my father too far and I was cast out. I did as I was told. I ruled over Hell. I kept the demons in line and I made sure those who needed punishing were punished but, I was unhappy. I began thinking of why I pushed my father too far. If my father is the cause of everything, then he caused everything about me he claimed to not like. I’m not sure I’m explaining this well.”

“I’m with you. Keep going.”

Lucifer nods and continues. “I knew only he was to blame, so I defied him in the greatest way I knew how. I left Hell. I expected to have a short vacation. Some sun, some beach. A few drinks. A little music. Women,” he says with a little grin. “But then, I fell in love with this city. The City of Angels.” He looks at Chloe and she looks at him. “I knew I needed to stay,” he says a little sadly.

“Who’s watching Hell if you’re here?”

“Time moves different down there,” he explains. “The demons won’t notice for some time that I’m missing. Millennia can pass between them laying eyes on me. For now, everything is in order.”

“But eventually?” Chloe asks.

Lucifer shrugs. “I may have to return. I’ll do anything to prevent that moment. How could I leave all this behind?” he asks, looking around his room. The tune changes to something modern, which Chloe can’t place, but Lucifer plays it with enthusiasm.

She looks around his domain as the music fills her. 

“I hope you don’t have to go,” she says, surprised when the words fly from her mouth.

Lucifer misses a note and stops altogether. He glances at her.

“Sorry,” she says, barely looking at him. “I just meant…” She waits for him to interrupt, but he waits on her. “I feel…comfortable with you. You’re the only person I can count on and I don’t want to lose that.”

Lucifer is unmoving, unflinching. Chloe feels like an idiot. Someone like the Devil isn’t going to be interested in the mushy stuff. Her cheeks flush and she forces a smile. “I should…yeah,” she says and she stands.

His hand reaches out to take her wrist, which he immediately drops. She stops, her back towards him. She sighs and turns and her eyes go wide. “Lucifer…” she whispers.

He looks at her with concern. “Detective?”

Chloe points to the white feathers that adorn either side of his body. Lucifer turns and sees them, following them by turning, knocking both their glasses from the top of the piano and then the full bottle across the room. He turns back, sweeping scotch from his piano from the overturned glasses.

Lucifer stares at his wings and curses. “Fucking shit,” he mumbles to himself.

Chloe steps forward, bypassing the broken glass. He’s still distracted by his wings, but so is Chloe. She stops when she’s right in front of him and Lucifer stops moving. He looks down at her. She looks up at him. She reaches her hand forward. “Can I…?” she asks quietly.

Lucifer looks into her eyes for a long moment before nodding.

Chloe stands next to him, her forearm almost touching his as she reaches her other hand forward. Her fingers touch the top layer of feathers and feels how silky smooth they feel along her fingertips. She moves her fingers slowly along the longest feathers, from root to tip. Underneath is a fine layer of down, which tickles between her fingers.

She glances at him, to make sure he’s okay, but Lucifer’s eyes are closed. Chloe reaches her other hand up now and softly moves his feathers between her fingers.

“Is this okay?” she finally asks.

He swallows hard. “Yes.”

“What does it feel like for you?”

He shifts on his feet. “I’m not sure you want that answer.”

Chloe’s cheeks heat and she drops her hands. “Oh,” she says softly and folds her hands in front of her. She steps away from Lucifer and keeps her eyes on his face. Eventually his eyes open and he sighs softly. He looks over at his wings. “You’re unhappy.”

“I’m…confused,” he admits. “I cut them off years ago. They shouldn’t be back.”

“You don’t like them?” she asks.

Lucifer shakes his head. “No.” He doesn’t elaborate.

Chloe can’t stop staring at his wings, as surprised as ever about the world she now lives in. Lucifer is so distracted he doesn’t notice her just staring. He makes a face and suddenly his wings are gone. She looks at the spaces they once held. “What happened?”

“I put them away.”

She just nods.

Lucifer looks at her now. He seems calmer with his wings tucked away, but she can still see the worry in his eyes. She wonders about the strength it’d take him to make the decision to cut his wings from his body. It couldn’t’ve felt good. When she looks into his eyes again, there’s something there that makes her heartrate pick up.

She meets his dark eyes and tries to understand. She’s so wrapped up in her own problems that it seems like she has learned very little about Lucifer. She’s curious because it feels like there’s unspoken words hovering between them, but Chloe says nothing. 

After a moment, Lucifer looks away. He notices the mess his wings caused.

“I should…” he begins, but steps away from her before finishing.

Chloe releases a small sigh and runs the fingers from one hand over the other, as if she can still feel his wings against her skin. She feels so foolish. She needs something to do, so Chloe walks around the bar and finds another bottle of scotch. She grabs two glasses and pours Lucifer something substantial, giving herself just a smidge. 

Lucifer returns with a broom and dustpan and a wet rag. It all feels very…domestic. He quietly cleans while she quietly drinks.

Chloe’s phone rings from her back pocket and she pulls it out. “Hi Ella,” she says as she answers.

Lucifer looks up for just a second.

“Chloe! How are you?” Her tone says all Chloe needs to know.

“I’m…you know, day drinking,” she says trying to add some levity to the situation.

“Oh, Chloe. You shouldn’t be doing that alone!”

Lucifer stands and it’s impossible not to notice the way his suit fits him perfectly, hugging him just so. Chloe looks away. “I’m not alone. I’m with Lucifer.”

Ella’s quiet for a moment and then says, “Lucifer, huh. Well…I guess you’re in good hands.”

Chloe has a spark of inspiration. “Ella, how do you feel about a night out?” Lucifer looks over at her as she says this. She meets his eyes. “A night at Lux? Lucifer’s club,” she explains.

“Girl, you do not need to tell me Lucifer owns Lux. I know all about it. And I’d love that!”

“Great,” Chloe says with a relieved sigh. “How about eight tonight? I’ll meet you there.”

“I’m so excited! I have this glitter crop top that’ll look…” Ella cuts off, but Chloe hears a kissing noise. A moment later, Ella is signing off to brainstorm the rest of her outfit.

Chloe sets her phone onto the bar top.

“A night at Lux?” Lucifer asks and walks towards her. “Didn’t you do that song and dance the other night?” He slides one hand into his pocket.

“With you, yes. But with Ella, it’ll be a totally different vibe.”

Lucifer chuckles. “Different vibe. So, no pressing your ass against my crotch again?”

Chloe goes bright red. Her mouth pops open. “Lucifer, I…”

“Not that I was complaining, Detective.” He winks at her. _Winks_!

She wants to throw the wet rag he used to mop up the scotch at him, but it’s too far away. She doesn’t do anything except listen to him chuckle to himself as he takes his spot at the piano again. She should be mad at him, but after a few notes, she’s sitting back beside him.


	13. Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all had the loveliest weekend. Thank you for the overwhelming support. I appreciate your comments more than you will ever know!

Chloe walks out of Lucifer’s bathroom in a short dark blue dress with long sleeves and towering black high heels. Her hair is swept to the side and she has on red lipstick. He stands near his bar as she walks down the few steps between his bedroom and the living room.

Lucifer whistles and she looks at him. “Looking good, Detective.”

She crosses the room, carrying a smile with her. “Thank you. But I’m not really a detective currently.”

“You’re still the Detective.”

Lucifer’s changed into a black suit and basic white Oxford shirt, but he looks good. It almost feels like they’re going out together, but Lucifer is only escorting her downstairs for her night out with Ella. Chloe knows she’s probably a little too formal for a night at Lux, but it feels good to dress up for the night. It reminds her of her days going undercover for the case. She’s been distracted all day with the inquiry and worrying about Trixie and leaving Dan with the case, but moving her focus to something silly—drinking with a maybe friend—has helped her feel more balanced.

Lucifer holds out his arm to her. “Shall we?”

Chloe nods, taking his arm easily. “We shall.”

Downstairs, Lux is busy. Chloe and Lucifer walk to the spot at the top of the stairs so Lucifer can look out over his domain. She glances at him and she can see the pride in his eyes. She turns to scan the room and she finds Ella near the bar, wearing her sparkly crop top, as promised.

Chloe knocks Lucifer’s forearm with her elbow. He looks at her. Chloe nods her head to Ella below. “Wanna come say hi?”

“Absolutely.” Lucifer motions for her to lead the way and she feels his hand briefly touch the base of her spine. Chloe grips the banister tightly as she walks down the stairs.

Ella lights up when she sees the two of them walking towards her. “Hi!” she greets brightly. She reaches to hug Chloe first. “Tough break today, Chlo. I’m totally on your side.” She leans back, holding her hands around Chloe’s upper arms. “I will do everything to get you back in in that detective’s chair!”

“Thanks, Ella, but…” Her voice is mostly drowned out by the music.

Ella hugs Lucifer next. “Oof,” he practically groans when she hugs him. 

“Thanks for taking such good care of our girl, buddy! She needs a friend.”

Lucifer briefly hugs Ella back and gives Chloe a look over the top of Ella’s head. They share a grin. “You two drink for free tonight,” Lucifer motions towards Maze as she slings drinks behind the bar. “It’s on me.”

“Really?” Ella lights up even more.

“Lucifer, you really don’t have to…”

“I want to,” he says with his devil-ish grin. “Enjoy your evening.”

Chloe watches Lucifer sink into the crowd. He turns to greet a few people and Chloe can see how people want to be near him. He’s charismatic and its contagious.

Chloe leans forward to order she and Ella a drink.

Maze eyes Chloe.

“Whiskey?” Maze asks. “I wouldn’t take you for a whiskey drinker.”

Ella is busy looking around Lux, so Chloe feels comfortable saying, “It’s part of the resurrection thing.” She knows Maze knows. Maze is after all a… Chloe realizes she doesn’t actually know. “Are you an angel like Lucifer and Amenadiel?” She briefly remembers Lucifer saying something about Maze being a demon, but that doesn’t seem right.

“Who’s an angel?” Ella asks. Chloe is pushing it a bit even having this conversation, but she can’t seem to care about the ramifications.

Maze laughs through Chloe’s question and continues through Ella’s. “I am _not_ an angel.” Maze pulls out a knife and Chloe leans back. Ella’s eyes go wide. “I’m a demon.”

“Hey, I don’t think you should talk about yourself like that.”

Maze looks at Ella. She stabs the knife into the bar top close to Ella’s hand. “It’s the truth, Ellen.”

“Oh, it’s Ella.”

“Whatever.”

Chloe nods to the knife. “You’re not an angel, got it.”

Maze pulls the knife from the bar. “Lucifer isn’t either. He’s _the_ Devil.”

“I saw his wings,” Chloe says simply. “He seems like an angel to me.”

“His wings?” Maze’s eyes go wide. “When?”

“A few hours ago. He seemed surprised to have them.”

Maze rushes around the bar and pushes through people towards where Lucifer disappeared off to. Chloe watches the wake of destruction, feeling like maybe she shouldn’t have told Maze about Lucifer’s wings.

Ella sips at her gin and tonic. “You guys are all in the weirdest play.”

After another drink, poured by a different bartender, Maze joins Ella and Chloe. “Come on,” she tells them, grabbing a couple of bottles and leading them away from the bar. Maze leads them to a high-top table along the dance floor with a great view of the whole club. Chloe notices Lucifer sitting on a couch between two women, but looks away because it bothers her more than it should.

Maze sets up the bottles and tops off their drinks.

“Are you hanging with us?” Ella asks.

“Yes. We’re playing a drinking game.”

Chloe’s eyebrow quirks. “I didn’t take you for a drinking game type.”

“I’m not,” Maze seethes, “but I hear it’s how you get to know one another.”

“Mm-hmm,” Chloe responds, hiding her smile. “So, what are we playing?”

Maze shrugs. “I don’t know. Shouldn’t you guys know some games?”

“We could do ‘Never Have I Ever,’” Ella suggests. “Oh, or ‘True or Dare’ but with just truths, so we really get to know each other.”

Maze rolls her eyes.

“This was your idea,” Ella reminds her.

“I’m _trying_ here. Let’s just…the first one.”

Ella sits down on one of the bar stools and explains the game to Maze. Chloe remembers playing a few times in when she was younger, but it was always at parties where she didn’t know anyone. And she’d never done anything, so she’d just lie because otherwise she’d be teased.

Once everyone is understanding the rules, Ella starts. “Never have I ever gotten a speeding ticket.”

Maze puts down a finger, but Chloe doesn’t.

“Isn’t this supposed to be…scandalous?” Maze asks.

“Then you think of one,” Ella suggests, taking a drink.

Maze thinks for a second. She smiles to herself. Chloe looks away and notices Lucifer again. She wishes she’d chosen to sit on the other side of the table. “I’ve never been in an orgy with _more than_ fifty people.”

Chloe snorts out a laugh. “Seriously, Maze?”

“What?”

“We’ve never been in an orgy,” Chloe says, motioning between herself and Ella.

“Speak for yourself.”

Chloe’s eyes go wide and she looks at Ella. “Really?” she asks under her breath.

Ella shrugs. “It wasn’t more than fifty people,” she says, motioning to Maze. “It was like ten. I was in college.”

“Go Ellen!” Maze drinks. “You should come to one of Lucifer’s orgies. They get fun fast.”

Chloe presses her hands to the side of her head. “Wait wait wait…are orgies just normal things you guys do?” she asks looking between the two of them. She pushes away the thought of Lucifer hosting an orgy, although, that part seems a little more normal.

“I just did the one.”

“I’ve done hundreds,” Maze confirms. “You should try one out. Loosen up.”

“No. No, I don’t need anything like that. I just…one guy and me. The _right_ guy. That’s all I need.”

Maze tips her head back. “Boring,” she says to the ceiling.

“I don’t think it’s boring. I think that’s nice,” Ella says. She looks over at Lucifer and then back at Chloe. She nods in his direction. “So, have you and Lucifer…?” she raises her eyebrows.

Chloe follows Ella’s glances and then looks back to Ella. “What? Have we…Oh! Lucifer and me? No. No. No, absolutely not. It’s not like that.” She takes a sip of her drink.

“Mm-hmm.” Maze smirks.

Ella smiles into her drink.

“No. There’s nothing going on with me and Lucifer. We’re…friends, I guess. He saved me and that’s brought us closer together. And he’s helping me with some issues,” she says, waving her hand in front of her face. “And, no. We’re not doing anything. We just occasionally share a bed or whatever.”

Ella’s eyebrows hit the roof. “Share a bed?”

“Once. Twice…kind of. He stayed with me until I fell asleep,” Chloe notices Ella and Maze smirking at each other before looking back to her. “And you don’t need to know that.”

The game is long forgotten. Ella leans forward. “What do you mean he saved you? I thought you told Fisher you made that up?”

“Fisher has a big mouth,” Chloe complains.

“He didn’t mean to tell me,” Ella says with an apology in her voice. “I overheard him talking to Dan. I think he was trying to sus you out. But anyway, he told Dan that you’d confirmed you made that part up. So, did you?”

Maze stays quiet. 

Chloe glances over at Lucifer and she could almost swear that he turned away from looking at her the moment before she looks at him. “He saved me,” she says mostly to herself.

“Okay, but—”

“Detective Decker?”

Chloe turns and instantly recognizes Linda Martin from the case with Lucifer. She’s confused for a moment and then rights herself. “Oh, hi Dr. Martin. What are you doing here?”

Linda stares at Chloe with her mouth partially open.

“Linda?” Chloe asks.

“Sorry. Sorry.” She glances around the table to Ella and Maze. “I just…Lucifer said you were back and I didn’t believe him. He…told me to stop by tonight and…” she smiles to herself. “Now I know why.” She sets one of her hands on her hips. “He wanted to prove you’re back. How are you back?”

“Yes, how Chloe?” Maze eggs on the conversation.

Chloe shoots Maze a look. “The details are…complicated,” Chloe says. She motions to their empty seat. “Join us.”

Linda still appears stunned.

Chloe glares at Maze. “Be on my side, will you?” she says just for Maze.

Maze just chuckles. She pours Linda a drink. “We were just talking about Lucifer and Chloe fucking.”

Chloe throws her hands in the air.

“You two had sex?” Linda asks.

“No. We haven’t had sex. I was just explaining that we’re not going to.”

“You should,” Linda says before sipping her drink.

Chloe’s cheeks flush. “You two…You really did it?”

Ella leans in. “How was it? I mean…I’m not interested, but it just seems like Lucifer would be…”

“Fantastic,” Maze says with a grin.

“You, too?” Chloe asks.

Maze shrugs. “Hell can get repetitive. Lucifer helped…break up the day.”

“Everyone at this table has had sex with Lucifer.”

Ella raises her hand. “I haven’t.”

“Let’s not talk about Lucifer, okay? We’re failing the Bechdel test.” Maze gives her a look, but both Linda and Ella nod. So, Chloe explains. “The Bechdel test is a way of measuring if a TV show or a movie or whatever has the women talk about any other ambitions than sleeping with a man. Or in reference to a man. It’s a way to show that women are well-rounded and not just a wall for a man to play off of.”

Maze scrunches her nose. “Fine. Let’s talk about having sex with women. Anyone?”

Linda shakes her head and Ella’s hand goes up a little.

“College,” Ella says again with a shrug.

“What college is this? I might need to check it out.” Maze waggles her eyebrows.

Linda interrupts the conversation to bring it back around. “Okay, Chloe’s right. We’re smart, sensible women.” Maze huffs at the accusation. “We can surely talk about other things than men and sex. Like work. How is it being back, Chloe?”

Chloe lifts her drink to her lips. “Maybe we should get back to talking about men.”

Ella pushes off the table and stands. “We should dance! Dancing requires no talking at all.”

“Yes,” Chloe agrees quickly.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Maze shrugs. Ella and Chloe walk away from the table and Ella holds her hand out for Maze. Maze considers it for a second before taking it. She holds her hand out for Linda, who shrugs and follows the three other women.

They gravitate towards each other on the dance floor. The music is something upbeat and Chloe allows herself to get lost in it because everything else is too much. She feels hands take her hips and she opens her eyes and grins at Ella. Chloe takes her shoulders and they dance around and bounce in a circle, laughing as they move to the beat. Maze dances right next to them and Linda joins and Chloe feels so supportive of these three women.

They twirl and spin and sing along to the lyrics badly. They swap among themselves, sometimes with Chloe dancing with Maze and then Linda. Ella with Maze. Linda with Ella. It’s easy and fun and Chloe doesn’t worry. For a few moments, she feels…ecstatic. 

Chloe’s spinning around, with her hands in the air, right when everything stops.

Lucifer groans. He looks away from Chloe as she stops in her tracks. She was looking lovely, spinning like a top, completely engrossed in the music and her new-found friends. 

Amenadiel takes a seat across from his brother. Maze pushes through the frozen bodies to join them. “Brother, I’m glad we’re closer now, but you really have awful timing.”

“I’m sorry. I planned to come earlier, but I get held up.”

“What news do you coming bearing?”

“How do you know I have news?”

“You don’t tend to just pop in for a chat,” Lucifer says, sipping his drink.

Amenadiel nods. “I called out to Zachriel and so far the news isn’t promising.” Lucifer rolls his eyes. “I heard Zachriel is working another case. He’s been working the same case since 1963 and he’s been turning down other cases for decades.”

Lucifer tips his head back, trying to think of another option.

“Our dear brother isn’t one to change his mind. We need another option.”

“We don’t have other options.”

“Isn’t there something your dad can do?” Maze asks.

Lucifer chuckles humorlessly. “Dad stuck us in this spot with no instructions. He’s not about to come down here and fix His mess.”

He looks over again at Chloe—the smile frozen on her face. He wants to fix this all for her. Allow her to get back to her life where she belongs.

“Did Lucifer tell you about his wings?” Maze asks.

“Wings?”

Lucifer glares at Maze. “Yes, I appear to have wings again. Some other kind of torture from father.” He stands and makes his way to the bar, calling over his shoulder, “You know, my vacation was going well. I had a rotating sea of warm bodies to share my bed, I have a fantastic place to drink and play every night,” he motions to Lux around him. “I didn’t have to worry about the celestial shit. I could just be my charming devil self and that was enough. But now, I have celestial nonsense raining down on me.”

He flops back down into his seat. “I got drunk the other day. _Drunk_. I don’t think that’s ever happened. And now I have wings. And the Detective…” he sighs, but stops himself. “I haven’t had sex in too long. It’s ruining me.”

“Have sex with Chloe,” Maze offers.

Lucifer’s eyes darken. “I will not. Not while I’m bloody tethered to her and the other implications that come with that.”

Amenadiel speaks after a long pause. “Luci, it’s all connected. Chloe returning, your wings, the bond between you two. It _means_ something.”

“It _means_ Father is cruel.” He stares at Chloe again. 

“Let me talk to Chloe. I can do my best to explain her being a gift.”

“No.”

“Luci, she needs to know.”

Lucifer slams his glass down on the table. “I know that!” His eyes glow red. He can always feel the heat inside him as he turns more Devil. After a moment, the heat leaves him and he knows his eyes have turned back to warm brown. “I just…want to give her more time before I pull the rug out from under her. She’s going to hate me.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“It is that I didn’t tell her.” Lucifer has bourbon on his hand from slamming down the glass. He stands to clean it off and refill his glass. “Please restart time, Amenadiel. I came here to forget about all this for one night and you’re really killing the vibe.”

Maze stands to rejoin her group and as Lucifer sits back down, time starts again.

* * *

Chloe plops down next to Lucifer on the couch a couple of hours later. Linda and Ella left with a hearty goodbye from each and a promise to share a cab on the way home. Maze has sunk into the shadows or something and just sort of disappeared. Lucifer looks down at Chloe, grinning at little at her wild hair and bright cheeks.

She notices the women noticing Lucifer. “Am I ruining your night by staying with you?”

He and Chloe haven’t really discussed why or how long Chloe plans to stay, but he hasn’t needed a timeline. It just seems to happen whenever she needs it. Despite what he said to Amenadiel, having Chloe in his bed gives Lucifer a different kind of gratification each night.

“You have certainly complicated my regular nightly activities,” he teases. “But have I complained yet?”

“No.”

“No, exactly.”

Chloe looks at him for a moment—just a beat too long. “I think I’m going to go upstairs.”

He nods, returning her gaze. “I’ll be up in a minute. I’d just like to find Maze first.”

Chloe leaves Lux and she reaches Lucifer’s penthouse. She stands there staring into the wide-open room for a minute. She slips off her heels, leaving them by the entrance, before walking in further. Chloe walks up into Lucifer’s bedroom and then into his bathroom. She washes the makeup from her face and she strips from her dress. Chloe replaces her dress with one of Lucifer’s silk robes hanging on the back of his bathroom door. It’s much too big for her, but she cinches the waist tightly and looks at herself in the mirror. She looks…she looks like a woman who might be getting ready to get fucked, but she pushes the idea from her mind.

She turns off the light on her side of the bed, leaving his. _Her side_ , she thinks. She shouldn’t be applying that idea to Lucifer’s space—hers versus his. Nothing here is hers. She climbs under the covers and inhales his scent. She considers the weakness of needing him. The pain of not being able to seek comfort in her own family. The difficulty of practically losing her job. But she won’t cry. Not like she did the other night. Chloe tries her best to clear her thoughts. She’s had a good night and doesn’t need to ruin it with an existential crisis at 1 a.m.

When the elevator sounds some time later, she’s still awake. “Detective?” Lucifer calls out, but she remains quiet. She listens to him moving through the penthouse and of course he finds her after just a few seconds. She feels him sit down beside her. “Are you sleeping?” he asks.

“No.”

She feels his hand on her shoulder. “Did you have a good night?”

She nods.

He shifts behind her and then says nothing. After a few moments, she rolls over to face him. He looks…concerned. “What is it?” she asks.

“Chloe,” he speaks softly and her name on her lips surprises her. “I know I made a promise to you before—that I wouldn’t let you die—but I couldn’t uphold that promise. I don’t make this promise lightly. I _promise_ to help you resume your life. I promise to do my very best to help you get your job back, your family back. You’re not alone.”

She reaches out and he takes her hand. “I know I’m not alone.”

He briefly smiles. He looks at his bed. “I can’t believe you thought you were ruining my evenings when this is the sight I return to,” he says, breaking the tension. His eyes glance down towards his robe on her skin.

She laughs softly. “No flirting,” she tells him, faux-serious.

Lucifer stands with a sigh. She watches him as he walks towards his closet. He pauses and says over his shoulder, “You might need to start packing a bag if you plan on staying here. Seeing you in my clothes…” She thinks he might shiver. “It’s difficult to keep my hands to myself, Detective.” In the light from the closet, she can see his hint of a smile, but she wonders if he’s not just teasing.

He disappears into the closet and Chloe sinks further under the sheets that smell of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, and don't worry. Linda learning about Chloe and those ramifications will not go unaddressed.


	14. They won't find a body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's be a tough 24-hours. It'll continue being tough for a couple of days, so I say this chapter is necessary. Please enjoy!

Chloe knocks twice on the door and she realizes they sound like cop knocks—swift and loud. She’s nervous.

Dan opens the door a few seconds later. “Damn, Chlo, I thought you were going to beat the door down.”

She flushes. “Sorry. I guess old habits die hard.”

Chloe walks into Dan’s place and sets down the brownies she’d baked earlier. Nothing special, just out of the box, but it made her feel a little like her old self. She looks around and notices Trixie’s homework spread out on the coffee table and cartoons playing on the TV. Dan resumes his spot at the stove.

“Something smells good,” she tells him.

“It’s Taco Tuesday,” he says with a grin.

Trixie comes skipping down the hallway. “Hi Mommy!” she says brightly and wraps her arms around Chloe’s waist.

Chloe takes a deep breath. “Hi Monkey, tell me all about your day.”

Trixie drags Chloe by her hand over to the coffee table and they sit down beside one another. “We’re learning about Asian elephants in science and they are so cute. Let me show you,” Trixie says, flipping through her textbook. 

Chloe remains attentive as Trixie flips through her book, pointing out the difference between Asian and African elephants. She can’t help but be amazed at Trixie love of animals and her breadth of knowledge. She rattles off facts easily, as if she has one giant compartment for them in her brain that she can access whenever it strikes her fancy.

Dan moves around the kitchen easily and it does feel like old times. 

Trixie turns a page and starts gushing over sea turtles. “They lay so many eggs,” she says excitedly and Chloe can tell she’s looking for the true number. “They drag themselves up the beach, dig out a hole, and lay their eggs and then just leave.”

“You’re lucky we live so close to the beach with all these ocean animal facts.”

“I know! I want to see the sea turtles like when we saw the sea lions.”

Chloe’s chest tightens. She lifts her hand and reaches to pull Trixie’s hair back from her shoulders, wrapping it around her fingers. She sighs softly, feeling…a small connection in her stomach. Trixie leans back into Chloe and suddenly that connection seems to disappear. Chloe drops her hand, but remains still so Trixie can lean into her.

“Maybe we should do the aquarium again. The three of us.”

Trixie turns, eyes wide. “Really?”

“Mm-hmm. We’ll plan something,” she says and glances over at Dan.

Dan is watching them and she expects to see a glimmer of joy at the idea of spending the day at the aquarium with Trixie, but he looks like he’s trying to puzzle something together. The look doesn’t leave Dan’s eyes even as they sit down to dinner. Trixie chats happily about the aquarium, but Dan seems to be somewhere else, meaning Chloe has to fill in for him and it’s hard. She nods when she should and laughs with Trixie, but it’s hard.

After dinner, Chloe helps Trixie with her homework and Dan…hovers. He’s reading over his case—her former case—but he keeps staring at Chloe. She sort of wishes she could leave before Trix goes to bed because whatever Dan is thinking will come up once Trixie’s no longer around to hear it. But Chloe promised to read Trixie to sleep.

A little while later, Trixie climbs into bed smelling of toothpaste. Chloe sits next to her on the bed, her legs stretched way out. She opens _The Little House_ and begins reading. “Once upon a time there was a little house way out in the country.”

Two more books later and Chloe is shutting Trixie’s door behind her. She pauses for half a second and considers the miracle of her daughter. Trixie has seen more than her fair share at her age, what with two homicide detectives as cops. She’s probably more observant than either of them realizes, which makes it more difficult to gauge what she’s seen in their casefiles or what’s she overheard in their conversations. But even without that, she’s had to walk through the emotions of her mother dying with no real answer on where she’s been. Chloe wishes she could explain to Trixie, but how can she?

Chloe shuts the door fully and walks down the hallway. Dan looks up from his case file and Chloe just waits.

“We should talk.”

“I know. You’re not subtle at all. You barely talked during dinner.”

He sighs. “I know. I’m just…” He shakes his head.

Chloe stands across the room from him and leans against one of the kitchen counters with her arms crossed over her chest. “Just spit it out, Dan.” Her mood has soured so fast.

“‘Spit it out,’” he repeats. “Fine, Chloe. Let’s start with the obvious. How are you alive? I saw you die. You had no pulse. EMS tried to revive you, but…You. Were. Dead. I want answers.”

It would be so much easier to explain part of it and not all of it, but Chloe’s not sure how to explain a single second. “I can’t give you answers.”

Dan stands. He’s not a violent person, so she’s not afraid when he approaches her with his finger raised, pointing it at her. “I know you, Chloe. You know exactly what happened to you.”

She releases a small sigh. “I don’t know _exactly_ ,” she admits honestly.

“But you know more than you’ve been saying.” He waits for her reply, but none comes. He groans in frustration. Dan turns away from her and runs his hands through his hair. He paces a few steps before falling onto the coffee table with his head on his hands. “It doesn’t make any sense and now I’m doing this shit at work,” he says and tosses his hands into the air. He looks at her desperately. “I can’t believe you’re making me go through this alone.”

Chloe feels a heat boiling inside herself. She glares at him. She tries to keep her voice low. “What you’re going through? Are you kidding me, Dan?”

He explodes, standing up, with no regard to Trixie hearing. “You won’t tell me what you went through, Chloe! You just showed up here, with vague information, and I’m just expected to accept that? It’s bullshit and you know it,” he says the last part almost quietly.

She turns away from his anger. “I would tell you if I could.”

“Why can’t you?” he’s louder again.

“Because I can’t! It won’t make sense. Why can’t you just be happy I’m back?”

Chloe’s facing him now, her chest rising and falling with her deep breaths. 

“I _am_ happy you’re back. Of course I am. But that doesn’t change the fact that you just showed up out of the blue, wearing the fucking clothes we’d buried you in. What about that, Chlo?”

“I can’t explain it, Dan.” She folds her arms over her chest.

Dan starts pacing again. “The Commissioner wants to exhume your body, did you know that?” Her eyes go wide. He nods and chuckles to himself. “Exactly. What are they going to find?”

She glances down at the carpeting before replying, “Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“They won’t find a body,” she clarifies. 

Chloe wonders what happened to her grave the night they resurrected her. She never thought to ask. Did someone go back and rebury her casket? What did her grave look like? She realizes now isn’t the time to be worrying about any of this, but she can’t help but be curious.

Dan just looks at her. “Chloe…You and I shared a life,” he reminds her, as if she’s forgotten. “We’re honest with each other. _Please_ tell me something.”

She wants to comfort him, she does. She doesn’t like seeing Dan in pain, or Trixie confused, or her team back at the precinct questioning her, but she can’t tell anyone. She can’t explain her situation to them. She needs Lucifer to give her a solution now because the questions are beginning to eat away at her.

Chloe looks away from Dan’s pleading eyes. “I can’t do this,” she says and turns to grab her purse.

Dan takes her hand in his and she immediately pulls back from him. “Chloe,” he says and raises his hands when she pulls back again. “I’m just trying to understand. I’m trying to get Fisher off your back and the Commissioner off your back. I’m on your side.”

“No, you’re not. If you were on my side, Dan, you’d believe me and you’d know I’m not trying to purposely hurt you. But I _can’t_ tell you and if that’s a problem, then maybe we need to cut contact.”

He shakes his head, looking genuinely hurt. “We have a daughter together; how do you expect to ‘cut contact?’”

She grabs her purse. “I came here to see Trixie, but maybe we shouldn’t do this again.”

“If you don’t come here, then you won’t see Trixie at all considering you won’t spend any time with her alone.”

“Who the hell—”

“You spent the first week here with us, Chlo, and I saw how you acted around her. It’s like you can’t stand her and trust me, Trixie’s noticed. And then you spent one night with her and decided you couldn’t do it alone again and invited Lucifer over? Since then, I’ve had her.”

Chloe’s fists ball, but she also feels tears in her eyes. It’s a painful mix of emotions. “I am _trying_ to be okay for her, but you don’t understand—”

“Because you won’t tell me!” he shouts.

She takes a half-step back. Dan looks at her desperately, but then turns away. A silence falls between them. Too much has been said. They’ve gone too far. Chloe’s hands tighten around her bag and she swallows. She walks around the kitchen counter and tries to steady her shaking hands as she reaches for the door.

“Chlo,” he says with a sigh.

She pauses.

“Should I be worried about someone coming after Trixie?”

“Why…why would someone come after Trixie?”

“One of the only things I can figure is you’re part of some cover-up, which means someone might have it out for you. I need to know if someone might use Trixie to get to you.”

“No. No, of course not.”

Dan says nothing in return.

She takes the doorknob in her hand and pauses before asking, “Why can’t you have a little faith?”

“Faith in what?”

“Me.”

“Because…this isn’t you, Chloe. I have no idea who you are anymore.”

With a nod, Chloe leaves, because she’s not sure who she is either.

As she drives away from Dan’s, Chloe tries to remember how things used to make her feel. Trixie leaning into her, seeking her mother for comfort, used to make Chloe feel fulfilled—wanted and needed in the way only a mother could be. Even after the separation, watching Dan making tacos for her and Trixie used to make her feel like she had a partner, even if they were no longer romantically linked. Dan has been her partner for so long and she’s always felt comforted by that.

Days and nights in the precinct, or on a crime scene, made her feel accomplished. Smart. Introspective. Chloe always felt like she was putting a puzzle together and each piece was a step in the right direction. Her work felt necessary.

And something as small as her routine—being a work, balancing life as a single mother—made her feel sane. She always loved knowing what the next moment held.

But now, most of that feels lost. It’s like she left that part of her behind. Maybe it’s floating in Heaven somewhere or maybe it’s gone forever. She should miss it, wish to be that person again, but she can’t help that certain parts of her love that she’s felt a sort of freedom from the routine. Of course Chloe wants her job back and her relationship with Trixie, but she can’t ignore how good it feels to just be dancing in Lux or waking up in Lucifer’s bed.

Her stomach flips when she thinks of Lucifer. She feels out of her mind sometimes when she thinks that he’s the one person who makes her feel better—because he’s _literally_ the Devil. But he’s not the Devil with her. He’s…someone else, too.

Before she realizes it, Chloe is parked in the valet line in front of Lux. A valet approaches her car and she goes through the motions of handing him her keys and walking up to the bouncer, who let’s her in with just a hello. She isn’t dressed for a club—in just a regular blouse and jeans—but it doesn’t matter when she’s a friend of Lucifer. Friend isn’t the right descriptor, but it’s all she has.

Chloe walks into Lux and feels the beat of the music in her chest. She stands at the railing and looks down at the mess of people dancing and drinking.

She spots Lucifer almost immediately. He’s standing beside his piano talking to a couple of women. They’re all beautiful, of course, and smitten with him, of course. Chloe tries not to scrutinize the women since society is always trying to pit women against one another, but it’s hard not to feel a little envy in her stomach. 

Chloe thinks about leaving. She thinks about heading home and not thinking about Dan, or Lucifer, or work. She needs to clear her head, but even the thought of walking away without saying anything to Lucifer makes her feel worse. Because she has something she needs to say.

Just as she thinks about walking down the steps to join him, Lucifer looks up. His eyes scan the balcony and Chloe notices the women he’s with vying for his attention, but as soon as Lucifer’s eyes settle on hers, she feels like there’s not competition for his attention. He grants her the most beautiful grin—slow and smoldering. She returns a small half-smile. She tilts her head to the side as he says something to the women who have been holding his attention. A couple of them shoot Chloe daggers.

She waits for him to reach her and when he does, he grins and says, “Hello, Detective.”

“Hi.”

He leans close to her ear. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

“Is it a problem that—”

“No,” he cuts her off. “I like that you’re here.”

Her chest expands with emotion. She looks up at him and she thinks maybe he’s not wearing eyeliner any longer. It’s just him, the way his eyes seem to sparkle when he looks down at her. She’s used to seeing a glass in his hand, but his hands are free. She reaches forward and takes both of his hands. He gives her a look.

Chloe begins leading them towards the elevator. “Trust me.”

Lucifer simply smirks.

They enter the elevator and Chloe releases one of his hands, but not both. Lucifer doesn’t try to pull away. He stands still next to her, glancing her way every now and then. Once they reach the penthouse, he follows her in, but shows a bit of reluctancy.

“What has gotten into you, Detective?” He chuckles a little, brushing off her strangeness.

She turns to him, right there in front of the elevator. “Dan confronted me about how I’m back and I told him I couldn’t tell him, but he’s angry with me and that answer isn’t going to fly soon.”

“I’m working on Zachriel,” he says. “Or Amenadiel is. But we are working on a solution.”

“It’s not about that.” She squeezes his hand before releasing it and then paces some. “It’s about…Dan said I’m not like _me_ any longer, and he’s right. I’m not me. Heaven changed me and maybe I’m not back wrong—although I have some thoughts on that—but I am different.”

Lucifer watches her pace.

“And I realized something as I left Dan’s house.” She stops and looks at Lucifer. “You are the only person I have to talk to about this stuff.” He opens his mouth to say something, but Chloe adds, “You’re the only person I _want_ to talk to about how I’m feeling.”

“Detective…” he sighs. He slides his hands into his pockets. “While flattered, of course, I think you’re probably using me because I’m the only person who knows the truth. Not that I’m complaining about being used by you.” He flashes a grin.

Chloe ignores the last part. “Maybe. Maybe not. I know I feel better around you.” Lucifer watches her as she approaches him. “I might be alone in how I feel, or crazy, but I feel…connected to you. Do you feel it?”

He seems uncomfortable and he proves it by taking a step back and giving her a slight smile. “Detective, yes, of course I feel connected. But it’s been a long month. Your life has changed. Of course we’ve bonded. But…” he sighs and looks away for a moment. “That’s all it can be.”

“What does that mean? ‘All it can be.’”

“I’m the Devil, Detective. You can’t possibly be connected to me. Not truly.”

“Why do you think you know my feelings better than myself?”

“Because your feelings…they’re not what you think.”

“Because of the tether?” she asks and she closes the distance between them. “I don’t care about any of that. So what if you’re the tether that brought me back to Earth? You did bring me back, Lucifer.” She looks up at him with an earnest expression. “You’ve been here for me, holding me when I needed someone, telling me it’s going to be okay. You care and I feel…heard and cared for, right when I need someone the most.”

Lucifer sighs softly. “Chloe, you don’t understand.”

Her hand reaches up and she strokes his cheek. Lucifer leans a little into her touch, proving that he feels something for her. She reaches up her other hand now, holding his face still. “I don’t need to understand any more than this,” she whispers, running her thumb down his lips before tipping her face up towards his and kissing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your support means the world to me. Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. I appreciate, and respond to, every single one!


	15. Alone. And lost.

Chloe kisses Lucifer slowly and he feels something rising in his chest. Her hands cradle his face and he feels her right thumb dragging slowly along his cheek. He inhales her just as her mouth opens to his and her tongue touches him. From just that small touch, his hands go around her, holding tightly to her lower back. He holds her against his chest as he kisses her back with conviction.

Lucifer feels heady from her kiss. He gets lost in the feeling of her lips on his, her hands running down his chest. She’s exploring him with her hands and tongue and it’s the most gratifying sensation. His hands reach up to tangle in her hair, holding the back of her head so he can more thoroughly kiss her. It’s as if her lips were made with his in mind.

He feels the gut punch instantly and Lucifer tears himself away from her. Chloe stands there, wide-eyed, her chest rising and falling hard. “Wh-what happened?” she asks.

Lucifer swallows and looks at her with horror. He was so lost in her and only now remembers that she was, truly, made for him. He feels disgusted and steps further away. “You should go, Detective.” He’s making it worse, but he can’t help it. He walks over to the bar to pour a drink.

“I’m sorry if you didn’t want me to kiss you, but—”

“Of course I wanted you to kiss me,” he says softly, looking down into his glass.

Chloe approaches. “Then why?”

Lucifer physically gives her the cold shoulder, leaning over the bar and not allowing her in. She stands by his side looking up at him and he already hates that he’s going to have to tell her. He swallows his whiskey.

She reaches out to touch his arm and it feels nice. He feels that connection, but it’s all a lie.

He hangs his head.

Why didn’t he just tell her when he mentioned the tether? Everything would’ve been better, easier maybe. Yes, there would’ve been pain, but they wouldn’t have gotten this far. Perhaps Chloe would’ve had enough time to process the truth of her connection with Lucifer and the complications of returning to Earth. It certainly would’ve been better than her learning now, after explaining he’s the one she can talk to.

But he owes her an explanation.

Lucifer rights himself and turns to her. “Detective,” he sighs. “I have to tell you something.”

She shifts on her feet. “Okay.”

“I told you about our tether bond, which I do believe is what brought you back, but there’s more to that. The reason I believe you may be tethered to me is because…” he releases a shaky sigh and looks away. He’s never been nervous like this.

Chloe reaches out for his hand. “You can tell me.”

He gives her a tight smile. “You’re going to hate me.”

“No I won’t.”

Her confidence in him gives him strength and for a second, he thinks he can tell her and she might not hate him. He continues, “Your parents struggled to have children.”

She releases a quick laugh. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“My father made a decision to help your parents conceive. He sent down Amenadiel and told him to bless your parents with a gift. Conception of a child.” As soon as the words leave Lucifer’s mouth, he can see her expression changing from understanding to a different kind of understanding. “Your parents had you nine months later. But…it’s not just that.”

Chloe doesn’t say anything.

Lucifer focuses on her hand in his since it’s the only thing keeping him grounded. “My father created the path for you to exist as…a gift. For me.”

He looks at her just as she slides her hand from his.

“Chloe,” he says softly.

It’s her turn to step away from him. She stares at him, her mouth setting into an angry line. He watches her, giving her room to breathe, room to process what she’s just learned. He looks for any sign of forgiveness for him, but her eyes narrow.

Lucifer has to explain. “It’s not something I asked for—a gift,” he clarifies. “I’m not even sure what it means. Dr. Linda thinks you might be a test, not a gift, but—”

“Linda knows?” 

“Yes, I mentioned it to her, but of course she never believes me given that she doesn’t believe I’m the Devil.”

“How long have you known?”

Lucifer sighs. “Since the night we resurrected you.”

Chloe crosses her arms over her chest. It’s a stark contrast to how open she was just a few minutes ago when they were kissing. She clears her throat. “Amenadiel told you.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was trying to learn all I could before I told you. My father doesn’t give out gifts, so it doesn’t make sense. I wanted to have the information so you wouldn’t feel…” but he doesn’t finish his sentence.

“Feel what, Lucifer?” she asks with a tightness in her voice.

He shakes his head. “I’m not sure,” he says honestly.

“I would think you would be sure since I’m _your_ gift. Made for you.”

“Detective…”

She shakes her head and looks away from him. “I’ve felt crazy for the last month. I’ve felt like someone else and sometimes I hate who I am now. And yet, I thought I’d found something real with you.” Her eyes meet his again. “I thought maybe there was a reason beyond the tether that I keep finding myself here. Because I can deal with a tether to bring me back, but I can’t deal with being created for you, Lucifer.”

“I didn’t ask for you to be created for me,” he tells her.

“But you didn’t tell me! You kept this from me. You let me kiss you! Is that even real?”

He wants so much to say yes, but he can’t lie to her. “I’d like it to be.”

Chloe throws her hands in the air and walks away from him. She paces as she presses her hands over her mouth. He doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t have answers either of them would like. He wants nothing more than the connection between them to be real, but how could it be? She’s created for him, he’s tethered to her, and those connections were forged by his father. Maybe nothing has ever been real between them.

Lucifer grows angry. He grips the glass in his hand, poised to break it, but he stops himself. He takes a few deep breaths.

“Detective, I—”

“It’s all fake,” she tells him, her eyes wide. “And I’m alone.”

“You’re not alone.”

She shakes her head. “I have to go. I can’t be here.”

“Detective,” he reaches for her.

“Don’t, Lucifer. I can’t…It’s not just because of the gift thing or whatever, it’s that you never said anything. You didn’t say _anything_. And I have no idea how I truly feel. Do you understand, after everything that’s happened, how that makes me feel? Alone. And lost. Just when I thought…” she swallows the rest of her words. “I can’t do this.”

Chloe turns to walk away right as Michael walks in from the terrace. He’s folding away his grey wings, not even realizing what he’s just interrupted. Chloe stops and looks at him and he looks between Chloe and Lucifer. “Woah,” Chloe says, eyes wide.

Lucifer crosses the room to stand beside Chloe, as if to guard her from Michael, and she doesn’t move away from him, which gives him a dash of hope. Lucifer adjusts his cufflinks. “Yes, we’re very different.” Chloe glances over at Lucifer, giving him a look. “Don’t you dare claim we’re anything alike.”

“Uh-huh,” Chloe responds, her mouth slightly ajar.

Lucifer hates the way Michael’s eyes settle on her. He narrows his gaze and looks her up and down and all Lucifer wants to do is step in front of Chloe and guard her from everything having to do with Michael. However, she holds her own. Michael smiles at her. 

“Brother, what are you doing here?”

He approaches and Lucifer tenses, closing another inch of distance between himself and Chloe. He ignores Lucifer. “My handiwork seems to have paid off. I’m Michael,” he says, holding out his hand.

Chloe shakes his hand in return. “Partially your handiwork. I heard you needed help.” Lucifer smiles to himself at her comment. It’s like for a second, they’re a team again. She’s not angry with him. Although, he knows that’s probably a pipedream.

Michael drops her hand quickly. “I’d say Lucifer offered very little to your resurrection.”

“What are you doing here?” Lucifer asks again.

Michael grins. “I understand there’s some trouble in paradise.” He looks at Chloe and she looks away. “Ah, seems my information was correct.”

“What information?”

“Zachriel said you’ve been snooping, asking Amenadiel to do some dirty work for you. Seems waiting a week to resurrect a person is having some consequences. I thought I might help.” His eyes settle on Chloe again and she returns his gaze. Lucifer doesn’t like it. “I could offer some information on the process, perhaps answer some questions.”

Lucifer now stands between Chloe and Michael because his brother is looking at her like a fox might a rabbit. “Why?”

“The goodness of my heart.”

“You don’t have a heart.”

Michael grins. “Be nice, brother, or I’ll leave.”

Chloe shoves past Lucifer and stands right before Michael. She looks up at him and Lucifer wonders what she’s thinking. But there’s no time to asks because she tells Michael, “I’d like to hear more about my resurrection and I’d like to know about others’ experiences.”

“You get right down to business, Chloe. A woman who knows what she wants. Fine.” Michael takes a few steps back and then crosses the room to sit in one of the lounge chairs, crossing his legs, while Lucifer and Chloe continue to stand. Michael seems unfazed. 

“A resurrection is about energy,” he begins. “I’m granted energy from my father, which I use to bring the soul back to the body. I say a prayer, ask for a blessing, and if Father approves, the body is resurrected.”

“But you said your father grants you energy first, so shouldn’t that mean he already approves?”

Michael seems annoyed with her question. “My very being has the energy needed; it’s about _harnessing_ that energy to bring a soul back. That’s where Father steps in.”

“So, where is the soul when you’re doing this?”

He looks at her. “As you well know, yours was in Heaven.”

“But what about someone who’s just died? Where is their soul?”

“Usually not far. The soul stays with the body until the body is tended to or until our sister comes to take the soul away. Since I’m usually arriving within seconds or minutes of death, the soul just pops right back in.”

Chloe presses her palm to her forehead. Lucifer wonders if she’s overwhelmed. She keeps asking questions, but her eyes are closed as she thinks. “How did I mistakenly get taken to Heaven? Shouldn’t you and Azrael, I don’t know, be communicating before one of you takes someone or tries to resurrect someone?”

“Azrael and I don’t need to communicate because we’re never given the same name. When I know I’m needed, I receive a signal and same for her, but we never receive the same signal.”

“So, effectively, the wrong signal was given that day,” Lucifer tries to understand.

“How is that possible?” asks Chloe.

Michael shrugs. “It’s not.”

“But it happened,” Chloe reminds him. “So it is possible.”

“All I know is a week after your death, I received a clear message from our father to resurrect you. He didn’t tell me where we went wrong or why you were so important. I was just told to go, so I went.”

Chloe moves around to sit down on the settee. She leans over with her elbows on her knees. “You can’t give me any more information? How did you know Lucifer would be able to help?”

“He didn’t,” Lucifer supplies. “Amenadiel suspected.”

Chloe turns to look at him. “Why? Because of the tether thing-y? The gift thing?”

Michael looks to Lucifer. He smiles. “Ah, so you told her.” He looks between the two of them. “I’m surprised, honestly. I thought you’d just allow her to _feel_ for you and never tell her.”

“I would never—”

Chloe cuts Lucifer off. “What do you know about the gift and tether thing?”

Michael shrugs. “Nothing besides that it made raising you harder.”

“So there’s some magical connection between Lucifer and I and no one has answers?”

“Amenadiel is searching,” Lucifer tells her, but she ignores him.

Michael stands from the seat and Lucifer watches him with disdain as he moves around Lucifer’s living room. “That’s all I have, so if that’s it.”

Chloe holds out her hand. “Wait. I want to meet others like me. Others you’ve resurrected.”

Michael slouches as Chloe stands and he almost side-eyes Chloe instead of looking at her head-on. “That’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

“Because they’re all dead.”

“Wh-what?” she gasps. “You brought them back just so they could die?”

Michael chuckles and Lucifer dreams of chucking him over the side of his terrace, after removing his wings, of course. “They died once their lives were over. Most of old age. I had no hand in their deaths.”

“You’re not just going to drop dead,” Lucifer explains a bit more thoroughly. “Michael hasn’t resurrected anyone is a long time. How long has it been?” he glances at his brother.

“A hundred years, at least.”

“So…I can’t talk to anyone about this.” She sits for a moment in that realization. Michael still seems antsy, like he needs to leave, but he waits. Chloe looks up at him again after a moment. “Lucifer’s blood helped bring me back because of the tether.”

“I assume so.”

“Does that mean the tether thing-y is gone since we used it?”

Michael smirks. “Does it feel like it’s gone?” Both Lucifer and Chloe look his way. Michael’s eyes focus on Chloe. “Don’t you still feel a connection to the Devil?” He raises his eyebrows dramatically and laughs.

Chloe looks away.

“Ouch, sorry brother. Better luck with your next tethered human.”

“Wait,” Chloe turns to Lucifer, “I thought you said this hasn’t happened before.”

“It hasn’t,” Lucifer says firmly, but he wonders about her reaction. Does she…want to be tethered to him? Connected to him? As she continues looking at him, he shakes the thought away. “I’ve never ever heard of it before. Michael is doing what he does best and feeding into your fears. Do you have any other helpful knowledge, brother, or are you all used up?

“I have more knowledge than you, _Luci_.”

“Enough,” Chloe sighs. 

Michael unfurls his wings and Chloe watches him. Her eyes widen and Lucifer wants to know what she’s thinking. He thinks how much worse this all could’ve gone. Michael seemed to be on his best behavior, which is actually more alarming. He flies from the terrace without another word. 

“What’s his angle?” Lucifer mutters to himself.

Chloe glances at him. “Michael’s angle?”

Lucifer pours a drink, needing a distraction. “He didn’t use his tactics. He didn’t use your fears against you. He didn’t even try to drum up your fears.”

“But that thing at the end,” she offers.

“Barely a blip. Michael is up to something.”

Chloe stands up from the settee and walks over to the bar. “Pour me one,” she demands of Lucifer, before sitting down next to where he stands. He raises his eyebrows, but does as she asks. “Let’s see if I have this all right: the signal system shitted out the day I died, hence the late resurrection. No one has any idea why we’re tethered and we don’t know what it means. I’m a gift made by God for you. My life is still falling apart. I still can’t connect with my family. I can’t sleep and the only person I could even remotely be around without feeling crazy was you,” she says, holding up her glass to Lucifer.

Lucifer turns to her. How did everything run away from him so quickly? He should’ve told her about “the gift.” He sighs. “I’m sorry.”

Chloe downs the drinks he’s poured. “I thought you said you’d be honest with me.”

“I _was_ honest with you.”

“Lying by omission still counts, Lucifer.”

She stands.

“Chloe…”

“Don’t. I don’t know if I feel a tether. I don’t know if what I’m feeling for you is because I was created for you. But until I know, I can’t be around you because it’s not real. So, please…” she pleads with her eyes. “Please just give me time. Please just…leave me alone.”

He nods. “Whatever you need, Detective.”

Lucifer watches her step onto the elevator and he holds her gaze as the door shuts between them.

Despite what Chloe says, Lucifer can feel the tether. He’s felt it since the moment he walked up to her grave. He knew he had to save her and since then, protect her. It’s why he went searching for her to reunite her with Dan and Trixie. It’s why every time she asks to sleep beside him, he says yes. It’s almost an unconscious need to always be saying yes to her.

Could his reasons for doing those things only be because of some celestial bond?

It doesn’t feel like it.

But he’s not sure how it’s supposed to feel. Everything inside him is new and unexplained. Perhaps Chloe is right—everything is just made up and the feelings the share—the kiss—mean nothing at all when they’re orchestrated by dear old Dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today is a good day. I apologize for the angst, but as you can imagine, it had to happen. Don't worry, you're going to be very happy next week ;)
> 
> Thank you for your support. Should you feel compelled, please leave a comment. I just love hearing from you!


	16. Violently unhelpful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you all had a glorious weekend. I know I did.
> 
> First thing's first, I have updated the chapter totals. I believe this story will be 32 chapters. I have everything mapped out and I'm just about done writing. Should that change, I'll update accordingly.
> 
> Second, I'm really excited for Friday's chapter and the ones for next week. I can't wait to share them with you!
> 
> And third, my broken record moment. Thank you all for your support and kindness. As I've said before, I've been writing fan fiction for years, but never for Lucifer. This is such an incredible community and I truly appreciate you.

Lucifer leans into the woman to his right, Sasha, and whispers, “Your hand is moving dangerously north.”

He looks down at his lap and Sasha grins at him. Moments later, her hand is cupped over his cock through his suit pants. He moans softly and she begins to stroke him, right out in the open. Lucifer tips his head back, feeling her hand on him, and despite the fabric between them, it feels exquisite. He focuses on her lips at his neck, nipping his skin. He needs more of her.

“Would you like to go for a ride?” he asks her.

Sasha nods.

Lucifer leads her to the elevator and after a moment, halts it in mid-air. He turns to Sasha and begins to explore her body with his sure hands.

After they fuck, Lucifer gives her a nearly sincere kiss. The kiss is sincere in the way that he enjoyed himself, but not in the way that he feels for this woman. She’s someone to warm his bed—or, in this case, heat up his elevator. She knows this as well. After Sasha returns Lucifer’s kiss, the elevator starts again and they part ways. Sasha returns to her friends, cheeks-flushed and a thin layer of sweat above her brow, and Lucifer begins looking for his next partner.

He spent a week without fucking anyone because, well…he doesn’t like to think of _her_ , but she’s the reason. But he’s back to his old ways—the way he likes it—and he has lost time to make up for. He prowls along the dancefloor, keeping his eye out for someone to catch his attention. A waitress passes with a glass of bourbon for him, which he plucks from the tray. He catches the eye of a brunette and he moves closer to her.

A few minutes after midnight, Lucifer steps off the elevator with said brunette—Beth. He walks her to the entrance of Lux like a gentleman and sees her off in her Uber. He adjusts his cufflinks on the way back into Lux.

Lucifer practically prances down the stairs towards the bar. As always, Maze sets a drink in front of him. “Thank you, Mazikeen.”

“You’ve been rounding them up tonight.”

“Yes, two already. I’m looking for a third to keep until morning.”

“I’m not complaining about having the old Lucifer back, but it’s a little obvious why the sudden reversal.”

“I haven’t an idea of what you’re speaking of, Maze,” he says and sips his drink. “I am a Devil of debauchery and fun. I deal in desires, dear.” He looks at Maze and grins. “And _my_ desire is to fuck my way through my club. Is that so wrong?”

Maze cleans a glass. “No, nothing wrong with that.”

Lucifer smiles and scans the room. “Maybe you should find your own fun for the night. Leave the bartending to Randy and Lizzie. They can handle one night without you.”

“You never give me the night off.”

“That is not true,” he disagrees. “You only work four days a week.”

“I meant a night where I’m _supposed_ to be working. What gives?”

“I’m feeling charitable.” He turns to Maze feeling enthusiastic. “What if we threw an orgy? Like the good old days. Oh, I haven’t attended an orgy in…two months or more. We could invite that firefighter you liked so much from last time. What was his name?”

Maze grins and squeezes the glass in her hand. “Patrick.”

Lucifer grins and sets down his finished glass of bourbon for more. “Yes, Patrick. He seemed lovely. What do you say? A little dirty fun?”

“I can’t turn down an orgy,” she tells him.

“Marvelous. I’ll start planning tomorrow.”

An orgy is the perfect way to reboot as the new and improved Lucifer. No more caring about one person. No more chaste evenings sharing a bed with a woman without fucking her. No more babysitting a kid or reading a kid to sleep or anything having to do with a kid. Lucifer is not beholden to a woman he gave a little blood to to bring her back. 

It’s been almost two weeks without _her_ and life has been better. Better than ever. Lucifer can just do what he loves—drink, fuck, and play the piano. He’s no longer distracted by the constant misery of caring for a human. He’s free.

Lucifer moves to his piano now and captivates the room with a somber version of “Somebody to Love” by Queen, never questioning the song choice. He sings softly at first, building his voice until the room is silent and still around him. He didn’t sing at first when he first opened Lux. He’d play the piano in his penthouse and at some point, decided it’d be nice to have an audience. Hence, the second piano.

He’d play a couple of times a week, at first, until eventually it was every night. And then multiple times a night. The first time he sang was a Queen song, which seemed fitting. Queen is the great equalizer. Anytime he chooses something from their catalog now, he thinks of that first night. The applause, the praise, how good it felt to do it again the next night and the next.

As he plays the keys with ease, he notices his last conquest for the night. She’s perfect. Blonde. Tall. Full lips. _Yes, she’ll do perfectly_ , he thinks.

Seducing a woman or a man is an easy game. It’s all about the desires. When Lucifer approaches her, he turns on his charm. After a moment, he asks, keeping his eyes on hers, “What is it you truly desire, Sarah?”

As predicted her answer is simple. “I want to have sex with you.”

“Lovely.”

He takes her to his penthouse and they don’t waste time. For two hours, they pleasure each other. He rarely runs out of steam, so they only stop because Sarah is exhausted. She passes out in Lucifer’s bed and he sneaks out from beneath the covers for another drink. He’s done this song and dance a million times, but it doesn’t get old.

_Except the week you didn’t do it once and you hardly noticed_ , a little voice says inside his head.

Lucifer ignores that voice and takes his drink to his terrace. He stands in boxers looking over the city, feeling the cool evening air on his skin. It’s almost spring, but the crispness of winter lingers. The fire in his veins keeps him warm. He could stand out here for hours and typically does—to think and consider and plan—but he’s been doing less of that in the last two weeks. Thinking too much takes him back to _her_.

As soon as he thinks of her, she fills his mind, so Lucifer gives himself a minute.

In that minute, he worries. The last time they saw each other, he’d just dumped a lot of information onto her shoulders, followed by Michael’s information. It’s enough to drive someone mad and Lucifer isn’t sure how she’s handling all of it. He also worries because he knows she doesn’t sleep as well as she should and he knows she’s feeling disconnected from her life. At least when they were spending time together, he could be that person for her. A connection. But she is alone, just as she said.

He feels terribly. He feels worse because he knows he’ll never help her, not truly. He can’t be there for her as she might want and he refuses to give into the emotions his father cursed him with.

After the minute, Lucifer finishes his drink and tries to consider how to clear her from his mind so he can get some sleep.

Unfortunately, it looks like he won’t be able to distance himself from _her_ as Amenadiel lands on the terrace next to him.

“Luci,” Amenadiel greets.

“Oh goody, are you here to berate me?”

“Berate you? No. Why?”

Lucifer turns to his brother. “Because of what happened with…the Detective.” 

“What happened with Chloe?”

“Bother,” Lucifer says under his breath. He turns to his brother and grins. “Nothing at all. We’re just not really _friendly_ anymore, but I’m sure she’s fine. Would you like a drink?” Lucifer walks back into the penthouse and Amenadiel follows.

“I’ve been in the Silver City trying to get help from Zachriel, trying to get answers for you about the bond between you and Chloe, and you’re telling me the two of you are no longer on speaking terms. What did you do?”

Lucifer pours two drinks. “How do you know I did something?”

“Because you are the Devil in this situation and she is the human.”

“Because I’m the Devil, I couldn’t possibly be innocent?” Lucifer asks.

“You’re _you_ , which means you can’t be innocent.” Amenadiel ignores the second drink Lucifer poured for him and tries to get his brother to focus. “What happened?”

Lucifer leans against the bar top, taking Amenadiel’s drink. He wishes he could get drunk again like the night with _her_ , but it seems like the liquor is burning off like usual. “I told her the truth. All of it. She wasn’t happy, so she left. Michael was here, too. Did he tell you?”

“He might’ve mentioned it. He said he told Chloe all he knows, which isn’t much.”

“Violently unhelpful, that brother of ours. He’s such a putz.”

“And you telling Chloe about the bond between you—before you knew anything—was helpful? What were you thinking, Luci?”

Lucifer stands upright now, squaring his shoulders to face Amenadiel head on. “I was thinking that she was showing true emotions towards me and she deserved to know she was being manipulated, just as I was. I don’t care for her and nor she for me. We’re both pawns of Father’s twisted chessboard.”

Amenadiel reaches out to squeeze Lucifer’s shoulder. “I don’t believe that’s true.”

“Lucifer?” Sarah asks from the top of the stairs to his bedroom. She’s wrapped in a sheet.

Lucifer grins at her. “Ah, my dear,” he ignores Amenadiel and walks over to her. “I’m sorry if we woke you.”

She eyes Amenadiel. She leans in close to Lucifer as he reaches her. “Are you looking to have a threesome?” she asks. Lucifer glances towards his brother. “I mean, I’m not against it, but I usually like some warning first.”

“A threesome with Amenadiel?” Lucifer chokes out. “No. No, of course not. He’s my brother.”

“Brother?” she asks with a quirked eyebrow.

“Yes, brother.”

Amenadiel lifts his hand to wave. “Hi, and no, I’m not looking to have sex with you.”

Sarah looks offended. “Well, I don’t want to have sex with you either.” She disappears into Lucifer’s room and makes a big scene of getting redressed and walking past them. 

Normally, Lucifer would try to convince her to stay, but he lets her go.

He walks to the bar to pour another drink. “You know, brother, I think I’ve taken on enough Chloe Decker for my days. I told her the truth and she didn’t take it well. I think that’s all I need to know. It’s been two weeks now. Her life is not my business.”

Amenadiel moves to open his mouth and speak, but Lucifer cuts him off. “I don’t care about what you might’ve found in the Silver City. Go tell the Detective, but leave me out of it.”

“Luci, you don’t mean that.”

“Oh, but I do. I have been nothing but miserable in the last month.”

“You’re lying.”

Lucifer’s eye flash red. “I don’t do that.”

“No, you don’t. Usually.” Amenadiel narrows his eyes. “Unless you’re in that much denial and you’ve convinced yourself of the lie.”

“I don’t do that either.”

Amenadiel just stares at Lucifer, which makes Lucifer uncomfortable. He glances at his brother a few times, but the tension is building. Lucifer really wishes he could get drunk right now.

“Do you know what I think?” Lucifer doesn’t answer. “I think you feel something for Chloe and she feels something for you, but you’ve convinced yourself—and her—that the emotions are nothing more than Father’s manipulation.”

Lucifer looks around the room. “Am I talking into a void here? I’ve literally told you that before. Now you’re just being lazy.”

“My revelation,” Amenadiel continues as if Lucifer said nothing, “is that you’ve lied yourself into believing something you don’t truly understand. You’ve made decisions, shared those with Chloe, and now the two of you believe you couldn’t possibly care for each other because of Father’s intervention.”

“Until I’m told otherwise, it is the truth. And unless Father flies down here himself to be the one to tell me otherwise, the truth will remain unchanged.” Lucifer shakes his head. “Actually, I wouldn’t even believe Father. So…in essence, nothing will change my mind.”

Amenadiel sighs. “Well then, I guess I’ll give you news on Zachriel.”

Lucifer doesn’t acknowledge the change in topic, but he is interested.

“I’ve met with Zachriel twice. He is…hesitant to help, as we imagined he would be. I’ve asked him to spend time looking into Chloe more.” At this Lucifer glares at Amenadiel. “He promised not to interfere, but he has been trying to learn more about her. I’m hoping by him understanding her, he’ll agree to fix the mess left behind.”

“How is he learning more about her?” Lucifer grips the edge of his bar.

“He’s been accessing her memories, as you might expect.”

“I’m not sure I agree with him violating her privacy like that.”

“We’re asking him to violate the privacy of possibly hundreds of people,” Amenadiel reminds Lucifer.

_But it’s different when it’s her privacy_ , that little voice says. Lucifer shakes it away. He moves the conversation along. “How much longer until Zachriel makes a decision? The Detective said these sorts of inquiries would take about a month and its almost been that long.”

“He didn’t have an answer for me,” Amenadiel admits. 

“Helpful.”

“I’m doing my best. As is Zachriel. He’s never had a request like this before.”

“His requests come from Father, yes, I know.” Lucifer sighs. 

“You’re impatient,” Amenadiel observes. “Is it because the longer Zachriel takes the longer you believe Chloe will have to be in your life?” Lucifer just gives him a look. “Ah, so I’m right.”

Lucifer hesitates. “You’re not…wrong.” Amenadiel sighs. “I am only upholding her wishes, brother,” Lucifer says with a sadness lingering in his voice. “She asked me to stay away and I can’t do that if I’m still wrapped up on all this memory shit. So yes, I’d like Zachriel to figure out what he’s willing to do sooner rather than later. And on that note, I’d also like to enjoy the rest of my evening.” Lucifer motions to the terrace. “If you wouldn’t mind flying off.”

Amenadiel nods. “I’ll go, but I don’t think you should push Chloe away. Be open to her, even if she’s having a hard time right now.” Lucifer mostly ignores him. Amenadiel leaves without much prodding, which is a small relief.

Lucifer finishes his drink and retires to his bedroom. Alone again. He probably should’ve worked harder to keep Sarah around, but he’s not in the mood for anyone currently. He strips himself naked and climbs under the covers. His sheets are silky against his skin and it is nice to roll around with someone in these sheets, but clearly Sarah wasn’t the right choice to close out the night.

Of course, Lucifer doesn’t think of Sarah for long. He tries not to think about Amenadiel and all his spoutings, but he can’t help it and eventually, he’s thinking of _her_.

Lucifer stares up at the ceiling. He tries to think of anything else, but his mind keeps flooding images of her. Some are images he’s seen—her laughing with him the night they drank together, her sleeping in her bed as he laid beside her, her amazement as she reached out to touch his wing. But some of the images are made up—fantasies he’s had of her. Climbing up along his bed, her body beneath his. Her kissing him again, wrapping herself in him. Feeling her in his lap, wanton and desperate. He can practically hear her moan his name.

He hates that his brain makes up these images and hates even more how real it feels.

He pulls out his phone, like he does most nights, and he begins typing out a text to her. Each time its different and tonight it’s an apology. He takes the blame. He wants to make it up to her. He misses her. But he deletes every letter before even rereading what he wrote.

As usual, Lucifer tucks his phone away and he prays for sleep. He prays to the universe, because his father certainly will never give him any sort of mercy.


	17. Pure

The doorbell rings and Chloe answers the door to receive the Amazon package. She thanks the delivery woman and sets the box on the countertop. “I bought something for us,” she tells Trixie.

Trixie looks up from her coloring. “What?”

Chloe pulls back the flaps of the box and finds the pasta crank tucked between some bubble wrap. She holds it up for Trixie to see. Trixie pushes back from the table and walks over. “What is that?”

“We’re going to make our own pasta for dinner tonight.”

“Like Lucifer did that one time?”

Chloe feels an ache in her stomach at the mention of his name, but she just smiles and nods. She’s trying to be better for Trixie and worrying about Lucifer will not help with that mission. “Yes,” she agrees. “But we can make fun shapes, too. Do you want to help?”

Trixie grips the edge of the counter and bounces a little on her toes. “Yes!”

_I’m just a phone call away_ , Dan had told Trixie when he dropped her off earlier. His eyes had cut to Chloe, expressing everything he wouldn’t say in front of their daughter. He’s still angry with her. He’ll be angry with her until she gives him answers. The only conversation they’ve had since their fight two weeks ago is about Trixie. Chloe asked for more time with her daughter and Dan reluctantly agreed.

They’ve found a bit of a rhythm. Trixie stays two nights at one house, two at the other. Chloe still struggles to connect, but since she doesn’t have work to focus on—or anything else—she’s just thrown herself into focusing on Trixie. She’s trying not to be overbearing, but it feels like the only way she’ll be able to reconnect with her daughter is by _being_ with her daughter.

Chloe sets up the pasta machine and adjusts the settings as it clips to the edge of the countertop. She runs through the shapes with Trixie. “How about rigatoni?”

“Can we do wagon wheels?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure that’s an option.”

Trixie doesn’t seem upset. “I like the twisty ones.”

“Perfect choice.”

Chloe isn’t much of a cook, but she can follow instructions. She pulls out a recipe for fresh pasta dough and she and Trixie get to work. Chloe measures out the flour and salt. She hands Trixie the egg to crack and she pours the olive oil into a well in the middle of the flour. They work together to form the dough and Chloe watches Trixie as she happily works her hands along the surface.

Trixie is a bit of a miracle. Chloe and Dan had a hard time conceiving. Many couples struggle for years—decades—and sure, it only took them a little over a year, but it was a hard year. Chloe knew how hard it was for her parents and she thought it was something genetic. 

The sinking feeling returns when she remembers she’s a _gift_ and that’s the only reason she was conceived.

“Mommy?” Trixie asks, her hands covered in dough.

“Yeah baby?”

“Did you really die?”

Chloe’s hands still and she looks at Trixie. For a minute, Trixie keeps her eyes still on the work in front of her, but eventually she looks up. She’s so sincere for her age. Chloe knows her daughter understands more than she says. So, Chloe decides to tell the truth. “Yes. I really died.”

“Did you go to Heaven?”

She swallows. “Yes.”

Trixie smiles. “Was it full of chocolate cake and unicorns?”

“That sounds like _your_ heaven to me.”

“Do you think I’d get sick of too much chocolate cake in Heaven?”

Chloe laughs a little. “You? Sick of cake? Never. Plus, it’s Heaven cake, so it’s so much better.”

“You had Heaven cake?”

Chloe realizes this conversation is better had when they’re not distracted by other things. She grabs a clean towel. “Let’s get this dough rested, wash our hands, and I’ll answer all your questions, okay?” She knows it’s a double-standard to answer Trixie’s questions but not Dan’s, but she also knows Trixie will believe her in a way that Dan won’t. What she tells Trixie won’t sound insane to her.

They wash their hands and Chloe opens the backdoor to their back garden, a tranquil spot that sounds like a good place to talk. She sits down in one of the cushioned chairs and Trixie sits in the other. “I didn’t have cake in Heaven,” she tells Trixie.

“Doesn’t sound like Heaven to me.”

Chloe laughs. “I wasn’t there for very long, but it felt like a long time.”

“Did you see grandpa?”

“No,” she says sadly. “I didn’t see grandpa. I didn’t see anyone. I just had memories. Of you, mostly. The last one I remember is us going to see the sea lions and the blueberry pie.”

Trixie grins and she looks just like Chloe in that moment. “That was good pie.”

“It was!”

Trixie thinks for a minute and Chloe gives her time. Chloe has a hard-enough time processing what she went through, but a seven year old really isn’t equipped for something like this. In thinking that, Chloe won’t give Trixie all the gory details, but she will help with some of her curiosities.

“How did you come back?”

“I had some help.”

Trixie looks at her. “Lucifer?”

“Yes, he helped.”

For two weeks she’s suppressed the thoughts of Lucifer because it hurts. She kissed him, made herself vulnerable to him, and he told her the truth he’d been omitting for weeks. Lucifer calls himself honest, but only when that honesty benefits him. She feels duped and humiliated. Her feelings meant nothing; her feelings were planted, just as she was planted as a gift and Chloe Decker refuses to be reduced to a creation for someone else’s benefit.

It doesn’t mean suppressing thoughts actually helps. Chloe spends a lot of her time thinking of him. She’s still lost and it seemed like Lucifer was going to help. He was working on a way to erase the memories of her death from those around her. She needs that right now as she still can’t work and her days stretch on forever. 

Dan won’t tell Chloe anything about the Commissioner’s inquiry and while she’s never asked, she’d hoped Dan would keep her in the loop as much as possible. But after their fight, she barely gets a nod from him.

Chloe wasn’t lying when she said she was alone.

Except she has Trixie and for a moment, she doesn’t feel a pit in her stomach.

“Do you have more questions?” she asks.

Trixie looks at her mother. “Are you sad you’re back?”

Chloe turns a little towards Trixie. “Why do you ask that?”

“You seem sad.”

Chloe rolls her daughter’s words through her mind. Is it sadness? Pain? Loneliness? Sometimes it feels like all the emotions at once. For Trixie’s benefit, she says, “I’m not sad, Monkey. I’m just…trying to find a way to fit in again.”

“You were only gone a week,” Trixie says. _Gone, not dead._

“It seemed a lot longer to me.”

Chloe waits for another question or a comment, but Trixie has shifted her attention to a bumblebee zipping around the roses. After some time, their dough is ready and they reconvene making dinner together.

After dinner, Chloe reads over the email Ella’s sent her. Chloe isn’t still on the Marshall-Griffiths case, but Ella sends her updates whenever she has them. Today, Sam Cobb was arrested on suspicion of setting up his friend to be killed. Like Chloe suspected, Eli showed up early—at Sam’s request—and Sam paid a guy he knew almost $2,000 to kill Eli. The reason, still unknown. Chloe reads the email a few times, feeling vindicated.

While Chloe goes through more emails—Lt. Fisher forgot to suspend her email access—Trixie finishes her homework. She asks Chloe for help a few times and each time Chloe wonders if her daughter is just trying to find a way to include Chloe. After homework and some TV, Chloe helps Trixie get ready for bed. She sits on the side of Trixie’s bed and reads to her from _Harry Potter_. Trixie falls asleep quickly.

The evenings are always the worst. Dark, lonely. Chloe pours herself some bourbon and takes it into the back garden. She pulls her legs up underneath herself in her previous chair. She tips her head back with a sigh. She tried to do something nice tonight, make pasta with her daughter, answer her questions, but it’s left her feeling empty. Or maybe that emptiness is misplaced. Maybe, for once, it’s not about Trixie, but about Lucifer.

Chloe spends her nights considering divinity. Before death and Heaven, she didn’t believe in any of it. She would be laughing at herself now—angels, Heaven, Hell…the Devil. She tries to work it all out in her brain. The divinity of God made her exist at all and the divinity of God brought her back to life. But why? Why to either? Why her? The worst part of considering divinity is she never receives answers. There aren’t any answers, she’s sure.

Like most evenings, she finds herself spiraling, which usually lasts until she falls asleep, but not tonight. She hears something to her right and looks over and jumps at the sight of Amenadiel.

“I’m sorry,” he says, his calm presence softening the fear. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m not very good at just showing up somewhere.”

“You should try knocking. On a door,” she tells him.

Amenadiel smiles. “I’ll try that next time. Mind if I join you?” he asks, motioning to the chair beside her.

“Please,” she waves her hand and he sits. “I’m afraid to ask why you’re here.”

“I don’t yet have news of Zachriel,” he shares. “He’s still considering his options.”

Chloe nods and sips her whiskey. “Okay. If it’s about… You’re the only celestial I really can stand right now, so I’d rather not talk about Lucifer.”

“I’d like to talk about him in a roundabout way, if you’d allow me.”

“About the gift?” she asks, glancing at Amenadiel.

“Mm-hmm.”

He’s the one who followed his father’s rules, so if there’s anyone to listen to about this “gift,” it’s Amenadiel. “Okay.”

He rests back in the chair, but Chloe can’t do the same. “Our father doesn’t speak to us like you might imagine. It’s as if we’re given a feeling and the day I learned about you, it was a feeling. I knew where to go and who to see. So I landed on Earth and found your mother in a bar. She was sitting alone. She’d been filming all day and she was unwinding, or so she told me.

“I sat across from her. At first, she thought I was hitting on her,” he says with a chuckle, causing Chloe to smile a little. “But I assured her I was just there to hear her out. So, she talked to me. She told me how much she wanted you. A baby. And I knew. I’d already expected, but I knew. So, as she got distracted and looked away, I blessed her with the possibility of conception. A photo was taken of us—which is still on that bar wall—and I left a few minutes later.

“You were conceived that night and born that November. You were a gift to your parents.”

Chloe shakes her head. “Lucifer said I was a gift for him.”

“I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to understand my father’s motivations. Lucifer made a point when he said our father doesn’t give gifts, so why now? Why you?”

“I ask myself ‘why you’ all the time.”

“I’d imagine so. There must’ve been hundreds, thousands of couples just like your parents—trying to conceive, but unable to. I’m still not sure why you, Chloe, and I’m sorry. But I do have a theory.”

“I’d take a theory right about now.”

Amenadiel leans forward with his elbows on his knees. “You knew as soon as you met Lucifer the kind of person he is. Selfish, debaucherous, hyper-focused on desires and pleasures.” She looks away from him. “But with you, he’s different.”

She laughs humorlessly. “No he isn’t.”

“He is. You might not understand it, but—”

“It’s the gift or the tether thing.”

“It is,” Amenadiel agrees, which causes Chloe to roll her eyes, “but it’s not what you think.”

“If he sent you…” 

“No one sent me. I will be honest with you: I saw Lucifer last night but he wasn’t open to talking. He doesn’t know my theory.”

“I’m not sure I really want to know your theory either,” she says, having changed her mind.

Amenadiel chuckles. “I understand that. Give me a chance?”

Chloe sighs. “Fine.”

“I’ve been searching the Silver City for answers for a few weeks now. Centuries in Heaven time, but I thought it was a bust. There were no cases of tethering I could find, not among celestials and humans, at least. That concept is usually reserved for humans. You might know it by its more common name: soulmates.”

Chloe whips her head to look at him. “You’re telling me Lucifer is my soulmate?”

“The blessing I bestowed upon your parents, which created you, bonded you to Lucifer because Father wanted it that way. I think what Father wanted was for Lucifer to learn to care, learn to love and protect. Before he was Lucifer, he was Samael, the Lightbrighter. I think our father wanted Lucifer to become better after he cast him out. I think that’s why you’re unaffected by him.”

“Unaffected?” 

“He can’t pull out your desires, which in a sense, is a manipulation.”

Chloe rolls the theory around in her head. “But,” she begins after a minute, “ever since I’ve been back, I feel better around him. That’s a manipulation too, right?”

“I don’t think so. I think it’s merely a benefit of being two souls mated. You make each other feel better. You bend and compromise to make the other happy or less anxious. You care for one another. Being tethered, or a mated soul, or whatever you want to call it, doesn’t mean you’re not your own person, Chloe. You married Dan, had a daughter. You chose to stay in Los Angeles. You chose to become a police officer when you could’ve continued as an actress. You have free will in all aspects of your life. The only thing that’s changed is you’ve learned you were gifted to your parents and you and Lucifer were gifted to each other.”

She’s on information overload. This is worse than when she first woke up and learned about Heaven and Hell. She shakes her head. She should be freaking out, but of course Amenadiel keeps her calm. She wonders if it’s something he physically does or it’s just natural.

Chloe looks at Amenadiel. “How did you figure all this out?”

“What is a soulmate? Two souls mated, connected, _tethered_.” He allows that to sink in before adding, “As for the gift, I’ve seen what your presence does for Lucifer. The night we resurrected you, he beat Michael up. He wouldn’t allow Michael to raise you in your grave; he brought you to his penthouse as a comfortable place. Lucifer never cared so much before, not until he was near you. He’s been protecting you since the moment you met, in his own Lucifer way, but not until he lost you did he really start trying.”

She shakes her head and says softly, “But these are all just guesses.”

Amenadiel looks up towards the sky. “They are just theories. What matters is how you feel. Does it feel real?”

“I don’t know,” she whispers.

“I’m not here to sway you one way or the other, Chloe. You can feel however you like. It’s free will.”

She looks down at the drink in her hand and sets it onto the table between where they both sit. “Free will,” she repeats. “I have the free will to never see him again.”

“Of course.”

Chloe reflects on the last month, on the moments she felt her worst and those she felt her best. The best moments are all wrapped around Lucifer. She thought it was a manipulation, something his father made them feel, but what if that’s not the case? What if she truly was feeling something for him?

She smiles a little when she notices Amenadiel still looking her way. “I feel like I should be one of those girls in the movies, who goes running after him, but…I just can’t.”

“Those are just movies, Chloe. This is real life. You need to do what’s best for you.”

“Thank you, for coming here. For telling me. I think I just need time.”

“I won’t tell him I talked to you,” Amenadiel says before Chloe even has a chance to ask.

She looks down at her hands and asks, “Is he…doing okay?”

When she meets Amenadiel’s eyes, she knows the answer. “He’s Lucifer,” Amenadiel says simply. “He masks his emotions.”

“His pain, you mean.”

“His emotions,” Amenadiel repeats. “If he is in pain, it isn’t your fault.”

Chloe shivers at a breeze coming in off the ocean. She glances back to her warm living room. She knows she’ll never sleep tonight, but she has to try. “I think I’m going to go to bed.”

Amenadiel stands. “Absolutely.” He unfurls his dark wings.

“Why…” she looks him over. “Why are your wings different colors from Lucifer’s and from Michael’s?”

“They’re just the wings we were created with.”

Chloe nods. “Lucifer’s wings are white. Angelic.”

“I told you, he was the lightbringer. Pure light is white.” Amenadiel gives her one last nod. “Goodnight, Chloe. Should you need me again, just call.”

“I didn’t call this time,” she says.

Amenadiel smiles, “But you did.” He’s gone a moment later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and, should you choose to, commenting. I am so happy you're enjoying!


	18. We're both monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very excited about this chapter and the two that follow. I truly hope you enjoy! Thank you for the continued support, however you choose to support. As always, I'd love to hear from you! I'll be hanging out in the comments and can't wait to read your thoughts.

Lucifer stands shirtless next to his piano, nursing a bourbon. His eyes focus on an inconsequential point in the distance and his focus is unwavering. His feet are bare, his legs wrapped up in his suit pants, as if he stopped undressing halfway through the task.

He’s been trying to get drunk all day. For two days, really. But as always, it isn’t working.

He needs to drown out his thoughts. He blasted screamo music yesterday, hoping to turn off the thoughts running through his mind, but it had the opposite effect. He just needs to do it.

The elevator opens and he hears the click on boots crossing the room.

“Which knife did you bring?” he asks.

“The sharpest,” replies Maze.

Lucifer turns with a grin. “Good thinking, Mazikeen.”

She produces the knife and twirls it around her finger. “Are you sure you want to do this again?”

“My wings are like a sexually transmitted disease, but worse. I didn’t ask for them and I won’t allow my father to modify my body because he feels like it.” Lucifer unfurls his wings. “So, yes, I am positive.”

As his wings settle, he watches Maze take them in. The last time he produced them were in front of _her_ and he remembers her curious fingers touching the down. His wings have proven to be more intimate than he once thought. When her hands touched him, he felt it deep inside. He can’t have that again. He refuses to play into someone else’s game.

Maze hesitates.

“Maze?” he asks.

“I’m not a fan of…removing body parts from you.”

“You are the very best at it though. Channel your time in Hell. If I remember correctly—and I always do—you could remove a certain body part with the slowest precision.” He glances down at his own crotch and raises his eyebrows. Maze stands still. Lucifer sighs. “Mazikeen, I’ve asked you to do this, so you will do this.”

He turns then and kneels down, giving her the height to really get in there and saw them off. Lucifer downs the rest of his drink and he waits. He eventually hears her moving and he braces himself for the pain, but also the relief. He can hear Maze’s knife cut through the air as she no doubt twirls it around her fingers again. Lucifer feels her hand take one of his wings to give her leverage.

The elevator announces another guest.

Maze drops her hand and Lucifer looks over his shoulder to meet the wide eyes of Dr. Linda Martin.

“Doctor!” Lucifer greets and holds out his arms. “Welcome. Maze was just about to remove my pesky wings.”

Linda walks further into the penthouse, her eyes darting from one stretch of his wings to the other. Lucifer awaits Maze, but she’s too distracted now. With a sigh, he stands, and he turns to face Linda. She says nothing as she continues to approach. He wonders what she sees when she looks at his wings. 

For a few moments, Lucifer allows her to just take it all in until he eventually asks, “So, you believe me when I tell you it’s not a metaphor?”

She nods slowly. “I believe you.”

“Good. Well, take in one last look because I’m about to be light two wings.”

“Wait, you’re cutting them off? Why?”

Lucifer sighs and walks over to make another drink. “I have my reasons and I’m very tired of explaining myself.” Linda just stands and stares at him.

“He doesn’t like that his dad gave them to him,” Maze explains.

“How do you know your dad gave them to you? God…God is your dad. And is real,” Linda says, trying to work out what she’s just stumbled upon.

“What other explanation would there be?” Lucifer asks. “Drink?” he offers Linda and she shakes her head. “Suit yourself.” He turns to her and leans against the bar, his wings reaching out to touch bottles and glasses along the bar shelves. “I cut my wings off once I decided to stay, so I could never go back down to Hell, and now they’re back. My father is fucking with me.”

Lucifer looks at Linda and tilts his head to the side. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, Doctor. But what are you doing here?”

“You’ve missed our last two sessions,” she says, still looking at him in awe. 

“Ah, I understand. Life has been…busy,” he says with a little chuckle.

Linda ends up sitting on one of the barstools in front of Lucifer. She tucks her purse into her lap and looks up into his dark eyes. “So, you’re the Devil.” He nods. “But…those wings look…angelic.”

“Fallen angel,” Maze reminds Linda.

“Right, sorry. I’m trying to think back to my bible days.” She’s quiet for a moment before, “And you’re here because you wanted a vacation.” She shakes her head and then her eyes go wide. “Chloe,” she says. Lucifer looks away. “You really _did_ resurrect her! She came back from the dead. I mean, I knew she came back from the dead—or maybe was never dead. I wasn’t sure when I saw her. But you did bring her back.”

“Yes.”

“Is she okay?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Linda realizes something else. “You told her…about the gift. Her being a gift.”

“It didn’t go over well,” Lucifer says simply. He sighs. “Look, I’m sorry I missed my sessions. I’ll gladly pay you for your wasted time, Doctor, but I would like to get these wings off my back now, so if you’re done with your questions, we can move on.”

“I’m not here asking for your money, Lucifer. I was concerned. And it looks like I have reason to be.”

Maze rolls her eyes. “He’s fine. He’s moving on.”

“Exactly,” Linda says. “You’re trying to move on,” she focuses on Lucifer. “But from what? Do you think maybe your relationship with Chloe was more important than you gave it credit for?”

“No.”

“Do you want to know what I think?” Linda stands right in his eyeline, a miniature human made more annoying by the moment. 

“Not particularly.”

Linda shakes her head. “You think everything that happens to you is a manipulation from your father. Does that mean you don’t have any free will? Because I actually think you make many more decisions than you think. You decided to cut off your wings; you decided to stop talking to Chloe when she probably needs you right now. And you decided to tell her, even when you could’ve lied.” She tilts her head to the side. “I think it’s a mistake to cut off your wings.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The fire inside Lucifer begins to burn. He looks away from Linda, feeling the weight of the wings on his back, and he knows exactly what he’s doing. His wings are a manipulation; they only showed up recently, which means his father wants him to know he’s done something right and nothing Lucifer does is in service to his father. So no, the wings need to go.

“You’re tapping into emotions you’ve never felt before, Lucifer, which can be scary. But pushing people away isn’t going to help.”

“I don’t need to feel these emotions.”

“It’s not about need, not only. It can be about want. What do you want?”

“I want out of this conversation.” He motions to Maze. “Do it,” he tells her.

Linda steps into his view again, standing right in front of him. “Lucifer, please hear me. I understand speaking to Chloe didn’t go well, but give her time. Give yourself time. What the two of you have experienced, I can only begin to imagine how you feel right now.”

His eyes cut to her. “I feel nothing.”

“You and I both know that’s not true.”

“Why don’t you believe me? I don’t lie!” he yells and his wings tuck away just as his eyes turn fiery red. Linda leans back. “I don’t feel anything. I’m the Devil and I’m not beholden to human emotions.” He calms momentarily, taking a deep breath when he notices as Linda’s pulled away from him. His eyes turn back to deep brown. “You should go,” he says quietly. “I don’t want to ruin your life, too.”

Linda doesn’t move. “You haven’t ruined anyone’s life.”

“Please, Linda. Just go.”

She nods once. “I’ll go, but I think you should reconsider cutting off your wings.”

The elevator opens and all three of them look over as Chloe walks in. She surveys the scene quickly—Maze with a knife in her hand (not unusual, actually), Lucifer shirtless, and Linda leaning back from him, her cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting,” she says.

Lucifer hates how his heart skips a beat as she steps off the elevator. “Detective,” he says and her eyes find his.

“Hey. I can go…”

“No,” Linda says quickly. “I’m just leaving. You stay.”

“Subtle,” he whispers to Linda. She grins at him. As she walks past Chloe, she squeezes her upper arm and gives her a smile. 

Maze walks around Lucifer, ignoring Chloe. “Are we doing this or not?”

Lucifer hasn’t taken his eyes off Chloe. She showed up, which must mean something. 

Maze sighs. “We’re not doing this,” she says, answering her own question.

“Maze,” Linda whisper-shouts from the elevator. “Come on.”

Maze takes her knife and buries it in one of Lucifer’s bar stools. “I’ll leave that there in case you change your mind.” She turns and walks past Chloe, just casually glancing at her as she goes.

Once the elevator shuts, they’re alone.

Chloe seems uncomfortable, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Lucifer feels exposed, an odd sensation for him; being half-naked in front of a woman is one of his favorite past times. But he can see a kind of determination in Chloe’s eyes and he’s not sure about the reason behind her visit after more than two weeks of silence.

Lucifer wants to keep looking at her, because she looks good, but he turns away. “Drink?” he asks, replacing anything else he might say.

Chloe takes his offer as an invitation and moves deeper into the room. “No, thank you.” He notices she touches the handle of the knife. As he pours his drink, she asks, “I feel like I interrupted something.”

“You did,” he tries to say with his typical amusement, but it comes out harsher than he intended.

Chloe nods, but looks up at him. He briefly meets her eyes before looking away again. When she begins looking around the penthouse, Lucifer takes a moment to really look at her without the intensity of her eyes on his. She looks well-rested—no bags under her eyes. Maybe sleep is no longer an issue. He knows he should be happy for her, if she is sleeping, but he can’t shake how it felt to have her in his bed those few times.

_That’s the damn tether_ , he reminds himself.

He looks away from her.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, I had a conversation with Amenadiel,” she removes the knife from the bar stool to sit down.

She’s close enough for Lucifer to smell oranges, which seems to be her scent, so he takes a few steps away. He feigns interest in his piano, touching the keys, but making no sound. He waits for her to say more, but she doesn’t. After a few moments, he looks over at her and she looks right back at him. He sighs. “Did you just come to tell me that?”

“Are you really going to be mad at me right now?”

His eyes narrow. “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.”

She jumps off the bar stool and closes the distance between them. Her eyes metaphorically turn to fire and Lucifer can almost see a little Devil in her, too. (Naturally, he’d want to make a joke about her having the Devil in her—big Devil, not little, but he doesn’t dare put out her flames.) “What is wrong with you?” she asks.

“So many things,” he says honestly. “But in this moment, I’d rather not deal with…” his voice trails off.

“Me,” she supplies. “You’d rather not deal with me.” He won’t look at her. “I shouldn’t have come,” she decides, turning away from him. Lucifer feels a moment of panic in his chest. He turns and watches Chloe walk away. “I thought…” she says over her shoulder, slowing.

He turns to her. “You thought?”

Chloe looks at him now. She glances over his chest, down to his bare feet. He watches her eyes, wondering what she sees when she looks at him. Not the monster she should see. He’s never shown her that part of himself. 

“What were you doing?” she asks. “When I got here. Why was Linda here? Maze?”

Lucifer regards Chloe. He sees the disappointment in her gaze. He sighs. He feels pain for hurting her, for closing himself off. It feels real. Couldn’t it be real?

He’s not sure, but he can tell her, “Linda came to check on me as I have been skipping appointments and Maze came to cut off my wings. Again.”

Her eyes widen. “You want to cut off your wings?”

“More like need to.” He walks over to the bar because this conversation requires more liquor. He never should’ve let Maze leave. He could be done with all this by now. “Everything is a manipulation, from the time I dropped from the heavens. I spent my time punishing humans who believed they deserved punishment and for what reason? Because my father told me to? So, I left. I come to Earth, find myself happy, nourished. I drink, I fuck, I have fun and then everything changes again. Because he manipulated me with you.”

He looks at her now. He points to her with the hand wrapped around his glass. “The Devil caring for a human,” he laughs. “How ridiculous. I was out of my mind to think that was ever a possibility. I should’ve known from the beginning, but it was my wings that reminded me. 

“Amenadiel visited me the other day and I knew he wanted to talk about you and me, but I wouldn’t let him. It doesn’t matter. Whatever nonsense he thinks he’s uncovered, it doesn’t matter. Because I have proof of my father’s manipulation.” He unfurls his wings again. “My bloody wings. Well, they’re not bloody, not yet. But they will be.”

Chloe takes a step forward. 

“You should leave, Detective.”

“You should’ve spoken to Amenadiel.”

When he looks at her, she seems…hopeful. He pauses. “My brother told you things you wanted to hear, didn’t he?”

She nods and licks her lips. It’s a small act, nothing sexual about it, but it hits him right below the belt. He looks away from her. “He talked to me about free will.”

Lucifer snorts out a laugh. “‘Free will,’ what bollocks. Linda was just trying to talk to me about free will. Perhaps the two of them have teamed up to annoy me to death.”

“Is it nonsense, though? You just said you chose to come to Earth. Isn’t that the definition of free will?”

“Maybe not. Maybe the idea was planted.”

Chloe shakes her head. “Does it _feel_ planted?”

“How would I know how it felt if everything is planted? It all feels the same.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

Lucifer puts away his wings again. He feels like a circus act with them out, her eyes on them. He doesn’t even consider how Linda must be feeling. After all these weeks, she’s learned his metaphors aren’t metaphors at all. 

She walks closer to him. He can she her opening up to him, showing her vulnerability, but he can’t allow the same show for her. “I don’t know anything,” she admits. “I’ve spent the last month or so not sure of anything. You know that. You’ve seen me at my worst. Literally dead,” she jokes. She stands right beside him now, looking up at him with wide light eyes. 

“I was angry with you. Part of me still is. For keeping the gift part of the story from me. You had no right, but I’m willing to look past all of that if we can just try to be honest about our feelings.”

“What feelings?” he snaps. “It’s all—”

“If you say nonsense or manipulation, I’ll hurt you.” She sounds serious, but the idea of her hurting him makes him laugh. “I’m asking you to admit that there is something here.”

He looks down at her. Her face upturned. Her mouth set in a straight line. Her hair is down, cascading over her shoulders and she looks…stunning, as always. He wants to curl the ends of her hair around his fingers. But being attracted to someone, noticing their beauty, is not the kind of feelings Chloe wants to hear from him.

He can’t tell her what she wants to hear. He doesn’t trust himself because nothing could be real. If it’s not real, it’s a lie. He steps back from her. She doesn’t even know him. He tells her so, “You don’t know me.”

“Are you kidding me? Are you just going to run circles around what the last five weeks mean?”

Lucifer downs his drink. “Are you sure you don’t need a drink? It might help.”

He turns from her and Chloe lashes out, knocking the glass from his hand until it falls to the floor, crashing and splintering off. “I want answers from you. I kissed you and you admitted the secret you’d been hiding. You must’ve done that for a reason! If you were emotionless and indifferent towards me, you would’ve kept kissing me. Maybe we would’ve slept together. But you stopped me because of your conscience.” She walks over and touches his arm. “I believe if you have a conscience, then you feel deeper than you might let on.”

Lucifer balls his hands into fists. He wants to punch something. Nothing he’s saying to her will keep her away, will make her leave. Unless… He needs to make the decision, right here and now. If he shows her his true self, she might leave and that will be that. She won’t keep trying to invade his thoughts, draw his feelings from him, or try to explain away the truth that there’s no such thing as free will between the two of them.

He’s done playing his dad’s game.

He turns to her, his face red, his eyes red. His skin grotesque. His teeth rotten. Her eyes widen and she removes her hand from his arm.

Lucifer smiles to himself. “You don’t know me,” he repeats.

Chloe stares up at him, her hand lingering in the air like a puppeteer with no strings attached to their fallen marionette. He stares at her, waiting for the moment she might run. Might scream. But she just stares right back at him. Lucifer hates how his heart hammers in his chest. Hates that her eyes train over his chest—now red and angry, raw.

She doesn’t run. Her hand keeps hovering and when she reaches his eyes again, he doesn’t see what he’d expected—fear, revulsion. He’s not sure what he sees.

Lucifer’s shocked when Chloe takes a half step closer. He releases a shaky breath and cranes his neck even more to look down at her. With her hovering hand, she reaches up and cradles his left cheek. He automatically leans into her touch. Her other hand comes up and cups his ear, her fingers curling around to the back of his head. He closes his eyes, trying to remember the feeling of her touch in this single moment.

For a long time, she just holds him like that. Her voice brings him back from his own version of Heaven. “Do you think you can scare me away?” He looks at her again. “You carried my dead body from a grave, Lucifer. I feel like a zombie sometimes. We’re both monsters and we’re both not monsters. I know you,” she whispers the last part.

He sees her eyes soften as he turns back into himself, his brown eyes trained on her. It’s his turn to cup her cheek, running his thumb softly along the corner of her mouth. “How can you trust this?”

She shrugs a little. “I decided to. I just…made a choice.”

“Free will,” he says back.

Chloe laughs a little. “Free will.”

Lucifer closes the minuscule distance between them, using his free hand to take her by the waist. He leans forward and her breath hitches, but he simply rests his forehead against hers. Chloe’s one hand moves to the back of his neck, as if to keep herself tightly against him. Her eyes meet his as he simply breathes her in.

Chloe eventually closes her eyes and Lucifer closes his as well.

“You’re not a monster,” he whispers to her.

“Neither are you.”


	19. Slicing, stabbing, whatever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rated E.

Lucifer bends to pick up the glass as Chloe holds out a trashcan. 

“I’m sorry,” she tells him for the third time.

“It’s quite alright, Detective. It’s about as much damage as you could do to me. I did like that glass and I’ve already broken one this month.” He looks up at her. She can’t help but give him a little smile. “But I can certainly replace a glass or two.”

The last five weeks have been exhausting, but nothing has been more exhausting than fighting with Lucifer. (Actually, it might be a tie between Lucifer and her troubles with Trixie, but who’s counting?) The way he looks at her now, at least half of her feels some relief. She’s seen him, felt his face between her hands, and she wasn’t afraid. Well, not afraid enough to run away. Afraid might not be the right word, actually.

If Lucifer asks, Chloe will tell him she was…startled at his Devil face, which is true. When she thinks of his true form, she just pictured his white wings, but the red face makes much more sense. She could see the shame in his eyes as he stared down at her and all she wanted to do was make him feel better. Because even with the angry-looking red skin and the flaming red eyes, she could still see _him_ in the way his mouth moved. In the way his eyes gazed at her. 

Lucifer makes a noise, a hissing through his teeth. He lifts his hand as beads of blood bubble from the tip of his finger. “Shit, are you okay?” she asks, setting down the trash can and moving closer to him.

He stares at the blood, squeezing the tip of his finger. “Interesting.”

“Interesting?”

Lucifer stands, holding his finger out. Chloe wraps her palm around the back of his hand, leading him towards the bar. She finds a rag and wraps the tip of his finger. “Why is bleeding interesting?” she asks him, glancing up.

“I don’t bleed. Remember, I told you only another celestial can make me bleed.”

Chloe lifts the rag. “Unless that glass is celestial, then it seems like you’re wrong about that.” She pushes along the knuckle of his finger, testing to see if more blood will squeeze out. “The bleeding’s slowed.”

Lucifer removes his hand from hers and looks over the red slash. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“You bled to bring me back.”

“Yes, because Michael had punched me.” Lucifer looks around. “Maybe His Annoyingness is around here. But…no, it’d have to be his hands that made me bleed.” Lucifer looks at her and she watches him work through whatever he’s thinking. His eyes go wide. He gasps a little. “Hit me.”

Chloe takes a step back. “What? No.”

Lucifer reaches out and takes both of her upper arms in his hands. “Don’t pretend you haven’t wanted to deck me a few times since we met, Detective. Now’s your chance.”

She drops the towel and reaches up to wrap her hands around Lucifer’s forearms. “I am not going to hit you. I haven’t wanted to deck you.” He gives her a little grin. She rolls her eyes. “Okay, maybe once. Or twice.” She pulls his hands from her arms. “What is this all about?”

Lucifer looks away from her. He reaches over with Maze’s blade in hand. Before Chloe can say anything, he’s running it along his palm.

“Lucifer!” she gasps and pulls the knife from his hand. A line of blood forms from his skin. “Are you crazy?” she asks, grabbing the towel again. “Are you on a self-mutilation kick or something? Removing your wings and now stabbing yourself?”

“It wasn’t stabbing,” he says, seemingly unaffected.

Chloe shakes her head. “Slicing, stabbing, whatever. Would you please stop?”

“I’m invulnerable,” he reminds her. “Nothing can hurt me, but now things can. I guess maybe it’s part of the tether or gift. Probably the tether,” he decides and Chloe tenses a little at the mention of the connections between them. They were shouting about it only a little while ago and she’d like to keep them from another shouting match. 

Of course, Lucifer notices her tense. “What’s wrong?”

She blows out a sigh, still dabbing along his wound, which has already stopped bleeding. She glances up at him and his dark eyes are settled on hers. She drops the towel, but keeps his eye contact. “I…just don’t want to fight about the…tether and gift thing again.”

“Who said we’re going to fight?”

“Us. About twenty minutes ago.”

Lucifer’s mouth splits into a grin. “Chloe,” he says softly and her name on his lips makes her stomach somersault. His fingers tangle in hers and she threads hers through his firmly, just in case she only is allowed to enjoy the feeling for a moment. “I…I have some thoughts on the whole thing. If you’d like to hear them.”

She nods. “Yes.”

His fingers squeeze hers. “Go outside onto the terrace. I’ll join you in a moment. Let me finish cleaning all this up.”

“I can help.”

“It’s not necessary. I’ll be there in a moment.”

When he pulls away, she wants to reach for him again, but lets him return to his work. She turns and walks towards the terrace, her heart hammering in her chest. 

After Amenadiel’s visit the other night, Chloe spent the next two days trying to find the pieces inside herself connected to Lucifer. She thought maybe she could only feel it when he was around. Perhaps it only exists from his close proximity. She wasn’t sure how to find something like a celestial tether, the feeling of being a gift, but whatever it was seemed too deep or maybe not there at all.

But earlier this morning, as she laid in bed, unable to sleep, she felt something warm inside her. It bloomed from inside her stomach and as the heat moved through her veins, she realized she was thinking of Lucifer. Of the night he laid next to her as she fell asleep. She felt so cared for in a way she never allowed herself to be cared for. She knew he’d laid there for longer than just the time it took for her to fall asleep. She woke up not long after midnight and his side of the bed was still warm.

The feeling of that warmth didn’t make sense this morning until she started thinking of what Amenadiel said. Maybe _that_ , the feeling of _that_ was some cosmic thing, but everything else is real. Lucifer didn’t lie beside her that night to get anything out of her. He didn’t gain anything. He could’ve said no, but he didn’t.

Chloe sat up, feeling the need to see him. It could’ve been a tether and she decided she didn’t care. She could be a gift for him—or a test or a lesson—but she didn’t care. 

She leans against the railing looking down on the city below. It’s early evening now, the sun setting and the heat leaving the air, but she still feels that heat inside. She’s still so unsure—of where Lucifer stands, of how they might make this work, what this even is, but she’s sure of one thing. No matter what, he makes her feel better. He calms her. And she wants to spend time with him.

Lucifer steps into the space beside her, offering her a glass. “I wasn’t sure if you’re thirsty.”

She takes the glass from his hand. “How are your battle scars?”

He holds up his hand and both the wounds seem to already be healed or close to healed. She knits her eyebrows together. “Speedy healing,” he tells her and sips his drink. He looks out over the city, too, and buries his one hand in his pocket.

Chloe takes a sip of her drink before cradling the glass in her hands. She glances at Lucifer and her eyes meet his. She doesn’t know why she feels nervous. To break the tension, and maybe add more, she says, “You said you had some thoughts on the…bond. Our bond.”

He turns to her, resting his side against the railing. “It’s something Amenadiel said, of course,” he gives a wry smile. “About everything being connected. Bringing you back, my wings, now this,” he holds up his formerly bloodied hand. “I got drunk the night you came to Lux. I feel…” his voice trails off and she hangs on every word. “I feel the need to be here for you. Protect you even when you don’t need it. I want to help you to get back to your life, reconnect with the small human who calls you mom. And I think it’s all connected, like Amenadiel said.”

“Okay, but then what does it mean?”

He sighs. “The feelings are real,” he decides.

Chloe feels something in her chest loosening. “Really?”

“The tether brought you back to Earth, made us close. Made us need to be near each other, but everything since then…I think is us.”

“And the gift?” she asks reluctantly.

He shrugs. “I’d like to assume Amenadiel and Linda are correct. The gift is not you, Chloe. But I’m not sure what it could mean. Not yet at least. I could be entirely wrong and everything is just predetermined, but I’m hoping that isn’t true.”

“I’ve sort of decided the same thing.”

He looks at her. “You have?”

“Being near you makes me feel…grounded. I truly believe you when you say you’re going to help me reconnect with Trixie. Help me return to my life. But…I want you included in that life.”

Lucifer smiles slowly, softly. He looks at her and she feels seen. His face turns a little grave. “I’m sorry for not telling you. I didn’t want to lose you,” he admits.

Chloe takes her drink and sets it on one of the surfaces closest to him. She moves closer, closing the small amount of space between them. “You’re forgiven,” she says easily. 

Lucifer sets his drink aside, as well. He tentatively reaches forward, taking her right hip with one hand and reaching to caress her face with the other. Chloe’s hands both reach out to fold over his chest, touching his bare skin. It feels so intimate. His hand trails down her cheek to her neck, pushing her hair over her shoulder. His thumb dances along her jaw and she feels her mouth open with a pop, the feeling of his hand already spinning her head.

He leans down, but instead of finding her lips, Lucifer’s lips replace his hand, kissing along the soft skin of her throat. Chloe sighs. His nose skims up, pushing along her earlobe as his lips follow. He lavishes her earlobe with his tongue before peppering kisses along her jaw, slowly, softly, like a whisper. Chloe’s hands drag down his chest and around to the small of his back, holding him against her. He kisses her chin, her eyes opening to the kiss, meeting his deep brown eyes. 

“Lucifer,” she whispers.

He pulls back, mouth slightly ajar. He looks at her so fiercely she can feel it in her toes. He holds her face in his hand. Lucifer leans closer and Chloe crosses the distance to kiss him. Lucifer responds immediately, kissing her thoroughly, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. Chloe feels swept up in him just as his tongue breaches past her lips and touches hers. She moans against his lips, her one hand sweeping slowly along the back of his pants, feeling his butt beneath her palm.

Kissing Lucifer tastes of whiskey, but something else. He tastes like he belongs to her. She’s never felt possessive over a partner, but maybe it’s the tether. She doesn’t care because it feels wonderful. He turns so his back is against the railing and her body is pressed to him. It’s as if they can’t get close enough to one another. Chloe pulling just as Lucifer pulls. But she keeps dragging him closer to her, trying to pull him away from the edge.

Lucifer presses a few soft kisses to her lips. “Chloe,” he says. He caresses her cheek again. He seems apprehensive, holding himself back. Chloe hooks her fingers in the loops of his pants. She begins walking backwards, pulling Lucifer with her. Once they pass the threshold into his penthouse, Lucifer locks his legs so she can’t keep pulling him. “We don’t have to do anything.”

She stops and looks up at him. It’s simple. “I want you.”

He sighs softly, almost shakily. He leans down to press his lips to hers again.

They stumble across the living room, hands and mouths everywhere. Lucifer reaches for her top, unbuttoning down her torso as she walks backwards. Her knees hit the settee as he pushes her shirt from her shoulders, his fingers skimming her skin. She shivers and arches up against him. Lucifer holds her by the waist, keeping her from sitting down. She wraps her arms around his neck and he reaches down to take the backs of her thighs, easily lifting her into his arms.

Chloe squeezes her thighs around Lucifer’s waist and allows him to carry her up the few steps and into his bedroom, setting her down with her back against the mattress. Chloe sits up enough to reach for Lucifer’s belt buckle, undoing it quickly, but not quickly enough. Her hands are shaky, her breath caught in her throat. Lucifer pulls away, looking down at her as she undoes his belt. He watches her fingers undo his button and then unzip his zipper tooth by tooth.

He kisses her again, sweeping her hair back with his fingers, clinging to the back of her head. She sits up, spreading her legs for him to stand between them. She tips her head all the way back, her tongue sweeping over his. She pushes his pants from his hips, following the material down its descent along his legs, her fingers brushing across his skin. He shivers. His hands find her own jeans, unbuttoning them quickly. She presses her hands to the mattress and pushes herself up as he tugs down her jeans. As she kicks off her pants, Lucifer reaches for her underwear, pulling them slowly down her legs, his eyes trailing down her body. She reaches behind herself, undoing her bra until she’s completely naked beneath him. Lucifer looks her over and she doesn’t feel embarrassed. “Beautiful,” he whispers before leaning in and kissing her, cradling her gently.

Chloe feels him pressing her back against the mattress and her insides flutter as his lips mark down from her chin and to her chest, kissing across her sternum before moving his attention to her right breast. She gasps as his lips circle around her nipple, flicking it with his tongue. His other hand slides down her stomach and between her legs. Chloe can’t hold herself up for much longer and lies back onto the mattress. She plants her feet on the edge of the bed, her heels dug in, as she spreads her legs completely for him.

Lucifer’s fingers explore between her legs as his lips move from one breast to the next. She holds the back of his head, lifting her neck enough to look at him. He kisses her again, right as one finger slides inside her. Her toes curl and she groans against his lips. His finger moves rhythmically, hooking up inside her and she tears away to roll her head back. “Lucifer,” she moans. She can feel his smile as he kisses down her body.

She can’t think with his mouth between her legs, lavishing her with long licks, sucking on her skin. She feels weightless. His free hand lifts her left leg to put it over his shoulder and she does the same with her right leg, completely vulnerable to his attention. He presses his hand against her stomach, tasting her, devouring her.

“Fuck…” she whispers. Her eyes are so tightly shut, she doesn’t even notice the sun setting, bathing the room in golden light. She doesn’t notice anything but the way he knows exactly where to touch, to taste. She shivers and arches, unable to stay still. 

When she comes, she comes with a shout, holding the back of his head and shaking beneath him. He kisses her inner thighs, his five o’clock shadow leaving whisker burns on her skin. He licks at the little red marks, now gripping both her thighs. Her hands go up to push her hair from her forehead, managing to crane her neck to look down at him. He gives her a wink and she groans and rolls her head back. “Stop it,” she says with a little laugh.

Lucifer kisses just over her pubic bone. She shivers again. “Stop what?”

“Flirting with me.”

“I believe we’ve gone way beyond flirting, Detective.” He dips his tongue inside her bellybutton.

Chloe reaches for him, for his hands, which he gives her, finally releasing her legs. She takes his hands and pulls him on top of her, his weight pressing against her. She wraps her arms around his back, his body pressed right between her legs. “You taste delicious,” he whispers, hovering over her lips.

She looks away, her cheeks red now. “You can’t say that.”

“Why not? How does it make you feel?”

When she looks back at him, she feels a fierceness inside her. She leans up and whispers, “Turned on,” before kissing him, tasting herself on his lips.

They tumble around the bed, first rolling so Chloe’s on top, straddling his pelvis, before rolling over again until Lucifer’s on top, hovering over her. Chloe sits up, clinging to him to get enough leverage. Their tongues tangle in his mouth and she feels a puff of his breath coat her tongue as she runs her hand over the front of his boxers. He fists the blankets left of her hip.

Chloe works quickly to rid him of his boxers after feeling what he’s had hidden between his legs. As Lucifer tugs his boxers further down, she cups him in her hand—hard and firm. Big, not that she’s surprised. Her nipples tighten at the thought of him and she knows she can’t wait a moment longer. “I need you,” she says, breaking their kiss.

His eyes darken. Lust. Desire.

Lucifer lifts her up by the waist and she makes a squeaking sound from surprise. He turns swiftly, sitting on the edge of the bed with her in his lap. He holds the base of his cock in his hand and she looks down, holding her hands on his shoulders, lifting herself up. “Do we need…” she begins, feeling as unsexy as possible asking. But she has to ask. “A condom.”

“I can wear one, if it makes you feel better, but…I can’t get you pregnant and I can’t catch human diseases. But if you’d feel better—”

She kisses him before lining herself up. His eyes gaze into hers as she lowers herself on him, but as soon as he begins to fill her, her eyes close.

Lucifer holds her waist in his vice grip, one arm pressed so hard against her, the other hand in her hair. He always seeks out her hair. She does the same, her fingers threading through his thick strands. He groans against her lips, which does something to her. She pulls her mouth from his in favor of pressing her forehead to his. She wants to hear him.

“Are you okay?” he asks, not yet moving.

She adjusts to him. “It’s been a while,” she admits. She cups his cheeks before he gets any silly ideas that she doesn’t want him. “I’m good. I’m…” her one hand slides down his chest. “I’m so good.”

“Yes,” he grins, “you are.” He kisses her. “So incredible.”

Chloe focuses on him inside her, the feeling of him taking her and her taking him. She didn’t plan this. Didn’t think of this, at least not today. She’s wondered, has been curious, especially after that first night. Dancing pressed against him, feeling his hands and breath on her skin and she wondered what he would feel like completely. The thought turns her on further and she begins to move on his lap.

Lucifer loosen his grip around her waist, but only to move his hands elsewhere. He touches her everywhere—her back, her hair, her chest, between her legs. He rubs her clit and she grips his forearm, rocking against his touch. “Shit,” she sighs.

He grins again. “Filthy mouth.”

She laughs a little, but as soon as she finds her rhythm with him, she’s no longer laughing—no longer smiling. Neither is Lucifer. He meets her movements with his own, thrusting up each time she rocks towards his pelvis. She gasps and he moans. They cling to each other, arms holding, comforting. He touches her face; she kisses his brow. They stare at each other, moving as one being, connected in all the places most important.

Inside her stomach, Chloe feels that burning again, a tugging. She’s on fire for him and if this is the tether, she’ll gladly spend her life feeling this way for him.

Lucifer leans forward, his forehead against the hollow of her throat, right against her collarbone. Chloe holds the back of his head, stroking her fingers through his hair. “Chloe,” he says against her skin. She feels herself beginning to unravel. Something about his touch has built her up so quickly and despite her earlier orgasm, she’s just as needy now. Each movement of his body beneath hers pushes her further and further to the edge. She rolls her head back, his lips finding her pulse in her neck, licking at it.

She comes for a second time, not crying out nearly as loudly, but feeling it deeper inside her. Her legs tighten around his hips, her head tosses back, her throat making noises she doesn’t recognize. Lucifer holds her, kisses her damp skin as she loses herself completely. He keeps moving, creating the kind of friction to extend her orgasm. He keeps moving for his own orgasm, which seems to arrive all at once. He moans, his body tensing. She runs her hands over his skin, her lips just beside his ear as he spills inside her.

With that, they both sit like that for a while, holding each other as they catch their breath. Lucifer gathers her hair in his hand and sweeps it over one of her shoulders. He kisses along the other shoulder, his hands free to move along her back. She pulls back eventually, his eyes meeting hers. She smiles slowly and leans in for a kiss.

Her stomach rumbles, effectively cutting through the tender moment.

Lucifer laughs. “I’d say you’re hungry.”

“I didn’t realize I was hungry until now,” she admits.

Lucifer shakes his head. “Let’s get you fed. I need you to have strength for later.”

“What’s later?” she asks.

He gives her his patented devil-ish smile. “You know _exactly_ what’s later.”

A shiver of pleasure runs down her spine. “You’re right. You better feed me. Food,” she clarifies, knowing how his mind runs away with him.

“As you wish, darling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and if you have a moment, and you enjoy what I'm writing, feel free to leave a comment. Or don't. Do as you wish! But thank you either way.


	20. sand running through my fingers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some fluff, some romance, some E rated content...Enjoy :)

Lucifer leans over to the plate between them and grabs a grape, popping it into his mouth. Chloe’s eyes settle on his mouth and he grins a little. “You can’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” she asks, her head tilted to the side.

She looks captivating right now, although, he’d argue she always captivates his attention. Her hair is mussed, obviously from his fingers, but it falls over her bare shoulders. She’s resting on her side, a sheet wrapped around her up to her waist, but her breasts are exposed. He looks down at her nipples and he remembers the taste of her skin. 

When he meets her eyes again, she’s still smirking at him. “You’re dangerous.”

Her eyes trail over him now. He rests on his back, propped up by pillows. The same sheet hugs his hips, but the outline of his cock is very visible through the thin fabric. The only thing keeping his hand, or her hand, from slipping beneath the sheet to seek out the other’s body is the plate of food between them. 

It’s nearly midnight. After the sex earlier, Lucifer ordered a proper meal, lying beside her in bed eating burgers and fries. They went for round two, full of food, so it was slower, but just as wonderful. After a brief nap, Chloe pressed her lips to his ear and said she wanted grapes. He wasted no time in getting her what she requested. He pulls a grape from the stem now and holds it out to her lips. She takes it, her tongue swirling around the grape and then the eventual pop as she bites into it.

They can’t stop staring at each other. It feels unreal. He thinks it feels unreal, at least. Knowing how much she wants him, how fulfilled he feels around her, makes every moment worth it—the bad especially.

“Tell me about your favorite time period on Earth when you visited. Besides now.”

“How do you know now is my favorite?”

She laughs a little. “Let’s just say an educated guess.”

Lucifer thinks back to all the times he’d visited Earth. Usually short trips—less than a year—but each was enjoyable in its own right. Of course, Chloe is correct and this is his favorite time, but he thinks fondly on a few others. “The 1940s,” he says. “The music, the feeling of that time. Right after the war, people were so grateful. It felt like they were always celebrating. The gin was cold and the piano was the ticket to a good evening.”

“What did you come to Earth for back then?”

“I’ve always loved the way humans just let go. They don’t worry about time when they should, so instead, they enjoy life. Drink and eat, spend money they don’t have. It’s frivolous and I’ve just always been fascinated by that sort of lifestyle.”

“You do own a nightclub, so that makes sense.”

“Exactly. I wanted to add more ways to just enjoy in this life.”

Chloe lifts a grape to her mouth. Lucifer watches her fingers, her slow, but deliberate movements. Everything about the way she moves entices him. He could watch her all day.

Right now, it feels like they’re in the most exquisite bubble, just the two of them and nothing else in the world. He knows it won’t last forever, eventually they’ll have to face all the problems with Chloe’s return, but they’ll do it together. He made her a promise to make things better and he’s hoping to uphold that promise. By the smile on her beautiful face, it seems like he’s done something right.

Lucifer slides down the bed some, mirroring her to lie on his side. He props up his head with his palm. He feels Chloe’s toes tangle with his. He smiles slowly.

He doesn’t want to sour the moment, but he’s considering the best way to uphold his promise and it seems like he’ll need to start with reconnecting Chloe with Trixie. So, he asks, “Tell me your fondest memory of Trixie.”

“You called her Trixie,” she says, eyes wide.

“I do know her name, Detective.”

“I know you _know_ her name, but you never call her Trixie.”

“I was trying something new. Emotional growth.” His hand reaches across the distance between them, finding he needs to be touching her. She threads her fingers through his and he slides his thumb along her palm. “I won’t do it again,” he promises with a small laugh. “But tell me about a memory. I want to know.”

Chloe smiles a little. She looks down at herself and rolls over onto her stomach, keeping Lucifer’s hand in hers. She uses her other hand to prop up her chin. “I can’t talk about Trixie with my boobs out,” she says, now mostly covered save for her back. He laughs. Chloe thinks for a moment longer and then says, “It’s not my favorite moment, but it’s the one I’ve been thinking about a lot.”

He listens without interrupting her.

“I tried my hardest to breastfeed Trixie, but she and I just weren’t working together. She didn’t latch and I’d grown frustrated, afraid that she wasn’t getting enough food. She was so little. A pink screaming tangle of limbs. Night after night, I’d tell Dan to go to bed and I’d sit in the nursery and try for hours until we were both exhausted. I know it wasn’t good for either of us, but I wanted to be a good mom.

“When she was about three months old, we’d switched to bottles and I felt useless. I never slept, thinking I was failing her. Until one night, she was crying and I told Dan to sleep because he’d been at work all day, and I went in and I decided to just try again. I held her against me and I waited and waited. She stopped crying, but it still didn’t seem like it was working. Until suddenly, I just knew it was. I looked down at her, her dark hair, her eyes looking right up at me, and I realized we’d figured it out.

“I didn’t have any other problems breastfeeding her. I did it for another six months and then one day she just stopped, but it was okay.”

Chloe’s eyes are damp with tears. “I think about that moment a lot now. I can feel things getting better, just for a second, and then they’re bad again. I know I’m connected to her. I love her more than anyone in this world, but it feels like sand running through my fingers. I wish I could just push my fingers together.”

Lucifer lifts the plate between them, setting it on his nightstand. He slides across the bed towards her, his arm circling her waist. She looks away from him.

“Hey,” he says softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset. I thought…I thought talking about her, about your past, would be a good thing.”

Chloe shakes her head and squeezes his hand. “It is good,” she says, tears spilling along her cheeks. “The past is good. It’s just hard in the present.”

He nods. He knows she doesn’t mean him, but he’d give everything up just so she could feel connected to her daughter again. Lucifer leans in and kisses a tear on her right cheek and then her left. He leans over and kisses the shoulder closest to him. Chloe reaches up to wipe away the other few tears on her skin. “I am sorry,” he tells her again.

“No. Don’t be. You’re the one thing that makes sense to me right now.”

He presses another kiss to a different part of her shoulder. “So, you don’t regret it?”

Chloe looks at him, her light eyes meeting his dark. “Sleeping with you? No. Why would I?”

Lucifer’s hand slides along her skin, touching the smooth plane of her back. He adjusts himself, moving a little so he has better access to her skin. She still rests on her stomach, watching him as his lips trail closer to her spine. “I just wanted to be sure.”

“We slept together twice, Lucifer,” she reminds him. “If I regretted it, I would’ve stopped at one. Or…” she says after thinking for a moment, “maybe I wouldn’t have. That first time…” she shivers and he sees the goosebumps on her arms.

Chloe sighs. “You’re trying to distract me. I was crying a minute ago.”

Lucifer slides his tongue slowly down her spine, stopping to press kisses every now and again. “Is it working?” he asks, his voice sounding husky.

“More than you realize,” she manages.

Lucifer kisses down to her lower back, leaving a trail of wet kisses across every inch. Chloe sighs and drops her head down to her folded arms, stretching out further for him. She pulls her hair to the side, giving him an unobstructed view. He moves, sliding the sheet so he’s over her. He hovers, holding his weight up on his hands and feet. He leans down so his mouth is right beside her ear.

Before saying anything, he kisses her cheek, which causes her to smile. He can still taste the salt on her skin. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yes,” she says without hesitating.

She moves her legs beneath him, granting him room between her thighs. 

He takes his cock in his hands, now hard from just kissing her skin.

“I want you,” he tells her. _I’ll never stop wanting you_ , he wants to say, but doesn’t.

She sighs. “Please Lucifer.” She lifts her hips a bit. “Have me.”

“Fuck,” he moans at just her words, how desperately they both give into one another. 

Lucifer sits up behind her, running one hand along her spine as he sinks into her. It’s late and they’re both tired, so Lucifer isn’t sure if he should get them to the finish line fast or slow. His body is never too tired for sex, not really, but his mind is tired after the day they’ve had. So, he just makes love to her, which is not something he’s sure he’s done before. He reads her body. Listens to everything she doesn’t say. When she moans, he goes faster and then slower again. When she gasps his name, he leans down to kiss her, which isn’t easy from the angle, but they make it work.

He’s never wanted anyone so badly. It’s never felt so important to check in with his partner before. But Chloe is more than just a sexual partner.

After a while he pulls out and she rolls onto her back. He needs to see her, so he slides into her again, with his eyes on hers. They pant against each other’s lips. They grip each other’s skin. It’s like they’re one complete unit moving in sync.

When they come, it’s him first and then her. She shakes beneath him, so he just holds her. Kisses along her face, all the while, feeling completely unwound. 

Lucifer slips out of her and Chloe gives him a quick kiss before excusing herself for the bathroom. He runs his fingers through his hair, gloriously naked lying across his bed. He doesn’t even hear the elevator announce its arrival; he’s too busy listening to Chloe—the sound of her peeing (not his thing, but to each their own), her flushing and then washing her hands. She doesn’t immediately return, so he imagines her fluffing her hair or removing her makeup. He can hear her footfalls on the marble floors. The light turns off.

“I’m going to demand a bath in that bathtub soon.”

“Whenever you wish, Detective.”

As Chloe walks to her side of the bed, Maze appears at the bottom of the steps below.

“So,” she begins, causing Chloe to jump and turn towards Maze. “It happened.”

“Jesus, Maze,” Chloe says, scrambling to cover herself up.

Lucifer doesn’t move to do the same.

Maze walks into the room.

“You know, I figured it would happen, but not so soon.”

Chloe looks over at Lucifer, as if to tell him to _do something_ , but for a moment longer he just lays there like a sack of potatoes. Chloe smacks his chest. He sighs and reaches to cover himself with the sheet, as if it’s not something Maze has seen before. “I didn’t expect you, Mazikeen. As you can see, we’re a little busy.”

“It’d wager you just _finished_ being busy.”

“Maze, are you serious?” Chloe asks, now fully covered.

“I am very serious.” She produces a blade. “I came back to finish what we started.”

Lucifer thinks of his wings in a different light now. If they’re ignoring his father’s potential hand in their relationship, perhaps he can ignore his father’s potential hand in his wings returning. His father is busy, so the might’ve returned for some other reason. Chloe, he’d imagine. The tether. Whatever cosmic bond keeps them together. 

He says easily, “I think I’ll keep them.”

“What?” Maze and Chloe ask at once, their eyes cutting to him.

Lucifer shrugs. “I’ll keep them. At least until I know why they’ve returned.”

Maze sighs. She turns her knife in her hand. “Well, I guess you don’t need me then. Unless…” her eyes slide over to Chloe. “Unless you’d like me to join you.”

Chloe flops back on the bed and pulls the sheet over her head.

Lucifer chuckles. “I think we’re fine on our own, Maze.”

“Suit yourself. Be boring.”

“It’s not boring to not want to have sex with you, Maze,” Chloe says from beneath the sheet.

Lucifer grins at her, even though she can’t see. “Maze,” Lucifer says with a sigh, “thank you for…checking in,” _on me_ , he wants to add, but doesn’t. “We truly are fine. I’ll see you tomorrow at Lux.”

Maze turns on her heels and he waits until he hears the elevator doors to shut to scoot across the bed, lifting the sheet from Chloe’s face with one finger. Her cheeks are still a little pink. He pushes her hair from her face and smiles at her without teeth, a low, slow grin. His one hand wraps around her side. “Sorry about Maze.”

Chloe’s hands reach up to run along his biceps. “I’m not sure there are enough apologies in the universe for Maze.” They share a small laugh. Chloe’s fingers thread through the hair at the back of his head. “Are you sure about your wings?”

Lucifer nods, never looking away from her blue eyes, which sometimes look green. He’d much prefer being lost in her eyes than in anywhere else. “I’m sure for now. If I change my mind, then I’ll let Maze play with knives next to me, but for right now, I’d like to keep them. They could come in handy.”

Her one hand slides around to touch his back, where his wings sprout out. (Although, he doesn’t love the phrase “sprout out,” but nothing else seems suitable.) “When I touched your wings,” she begins softly, “you had a reaction. Was it…how I touched them? Or…?”

“I think it was a mixture of how and just _you_ touching them.”

“Why?”

“Detective,” he says softly, “after all that’s happened tonight, surely you know your hands do things to me.”

She flushes all over again. “Okay, but we weren’t…anything then.”

“I’d disagree. We’ve hardly ever been less than something.” She watches his mouth as he speaks and then finds his eyes. “I’d argue we’ve been _something_ since we met.”

His hand moves up and down her side. He manages to pool the sheet around her waist, now able to look across her chest, her flat stomach. Just looking at her and he wants her again, but he can see the redness in her tired eyes. It must be at least 1 a.m. and he won’t be the reason she’s exhausted tomorrow.

But Chloe isn’t too concerned with sleep when she asks, “What do you mean?”

Lucifer sighs, trying to put the words together. He’s not sure how to phrase it delicately, without either of them questioning their bond. His hand reaches up and rests just below her right breast. She sighs. “I’d imagine it has to do with the tether, although I’m not sure.”

“Not sure about what?”

“I didn’t know a tether existed until you died, so I wonder if it was there when we first met.” He grins at the memory. “I was completely taken by you instantly, but I wasn’t sure yet. I knew I wanted to have sex with you,” he says plainly and she laughs. “But I was also curious about you, something I’m not sure I’ve ever felt for a human before.”

Chloe turns on her side to face him. She continues to run her hand along his back, feeling his muscles beneath her palm. “I hated how ridiculously good looking you were. How cocky and charming. It made my job more difficult.”

Lucifer’s grin stretches across his face. “That’s music to my ears, Detective.”

“Still so cocky.”

He presses his hips against hers and raises an eyebrow.

“If you make a cock joke, so help me, Lucifer.”

He pulls back, laughing fully now. He lies back on the bed, bringing her with him. She rests her head on his chest. His fingers slide through her hair. “Whatever I felt then, and now, feels very real to me. Just as real as you in my arms.” She tightens her grip around his middle. 

“It’s real to me, too.”

Lucifer’s made promises he couldn’t keep and he currently has given her a promise he intends to keep—if it takes all his power. But he needs a promise from her, too. “I’d like this to continue to be real. Can you…would you promise not to give up on us? No matter what?”

Chloe lifts her head to see his eyes. He can see the concern in hers. She reaches to stroke his cheek. “Lucifer, what are you afraid might happen?”

He shakes his head. “I’m not sure. But…would you promise me that?”

“Of course,” she says without a moment’s hesitation. “I won’t give up on us.”

His face breaks into a slight smile. He leans down to kiss her, trying to pour his heart into the kiss. His heart that until now, he wasn’t sure really worked right. He thought affection was something for humans only, but the way she makes his heart skip a beat or race or tighten in his chest…well, it’s the most human he’s ever felt, being cared for by her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your continued support! I feel so lucky being able to hear from you.


	21. Angle

Chloe takes the elevator down from Lucifer’s penthouse to Lux. She has Trixie for the next two nights, a first since returning, so she’s feeling nervous.

It’s been four days since she and Lucifer fell into bed together and even now, as she walks along the catwalk overlook the bowels of Lux, she’s a little nervous. Lucifer makes her a little nervous, even now. It’s a good kind of nervous. The kind that settles into her stomach like warm molasses, slow and sweet. She has the same feeling every morning she’s woken up in the last four days, his eyes on hers or her eyes taking in his quiet sleeping body. Either way, he’s the first thing she’s seen.

After four days in heaven with Lucifer (the irony is not lost on her), she needs to pretend to be an adult again. 

When Dan text her yesterday about taking Trixie, Chloe was surprised. _Are you sure?_ she’d typed back. He was, but even through words, she could tell he was reluctant. _Trixie keeps begging me_ , he confirmed, which is what she expected. It was easy to agree. Of course her daughter could spend two days. But of course, she begins doubting her fast yes immediately. Either way, she’s not changing her mind.

Chloe sets her bag at the top of the stairs. Once she realized she wasn’t leaving Lucifer’s place until she had to, they went to get her a few things. She couldn’t just live in Lucifer’s shirts, although it was tempting.

She looks out from the perch at the top of the stairs and sees Lucifer sitting at his piano. Lux is open, but there are only a few patrons—some drunks with nothing better to do or some down on their luck, some who just needed someone to talk to. Typically, Lucifer isn’t on his piano so early. He waits until Lux is crowded, but she’s noticed his patterns the last few days, and he always checks in at Lux throughout the day. She also suspects he doesn’t want his playing to interrupt her work.

Despite having no access to her files or witness statements or evidence, Chloe has been trying to work her last case—the man shot in another man’s apartment where drugs were involved, but also not involved. It’s nearly impossible, but it gives her something to do. As much as she’d love to just spend hours in bed with Lucifer, at some point they need to face the real world.

Chloe walks down the steps, trying to pinpoint the song he’s playing. After just a few notes, she notices The Beatles. _“Let It Be,”_ she thinks and hears each note in her head.

As she steps closer, she can hear him singing quietly to himself. “‘And in my hour of darkness/ she is standing right in front of me/Speaking words of wisdom/let it be.’” He keeps singing as Chloe sinks into the seat beside him. He glances over at her with a smile, his fingers moving gracefully across the keys. She notices his eyes darken a little when he settles on her. She watches his mouth move, serenading her.

He eventually stops singing, but keeps playing without missing a single note. “Are you leaving me?” he teases.

She chuckles a little. “Yes. I’ve had a terrible time.”

“Me, too,” he says, but his voice is dripping with sincerity. Because he knows ‘terrible’ is replaced with ‘wonderful’ and he, too, had a wonderful time. “I know you know, but I am happy to come and entertain the little urchin. Help be a buffer.”

Chloe warms at the suggestion. “I do know, but I’m okay. I think the only thing that’ll help is just being fully present with Trix, and I can’t do that when you’re looking at me like that.”

“How am I looking at you?”

His smile is dazzling. It lights something inside her. _Lightbringer_. “I won’t answer that. You _know_. Anyway, I’ll be back on Sunday. I know that’s a big Lux night, but—”

“I’ll skip it.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to. After forty-eight hours without you, Detective, I’m going to need copious amounts of private time. Naked, preferably. I’m thinking in the hot tub…” he says, looking off whimsically into the distance.

Chloe’s cheeks flush. He finishes the song with a few soft notes, his one hand falling into his lap and the other reaching for his whiskey. For a moment, she just watches him. Watching he swallow, savor. The way his lips turn up at the corners. She leans in because she has to and he closes the distance between them because he has to. They kiss slowly. His tongue tastes of whiskey. He invades her mouth and she sighs, giving him complete access to her. His hand holds the back of her neck, beneath her hair, and her hands reach up to cup his cheeks tenderly.

When they pull away, Chloe realizes with one word, they could be upstairs again. Tangled in his sheets. Two sets of limbs, two mouths, touching and tasting. She wants to bask in the thought, but she can’t. She smiles softly. “I had to take one for the road.”

“You can have more than one.”

He leans in and she kisses him briefly, close-mouthed. Quick. “I can’t.” She strokes his cheek once more, looking into his warm brown eyes. In a moment like this, she doesn’t understand how he’s the Devil. He’s too…loving. Giving. All the stories about him must’ve been wrong. 

“I’ll see you on Sunday,” she says softly.

Lucifer releases the back of her neck. “I’m looking forward to it, Detective.”

“I told you before, I’m not a detective right now.”

Instead of assuring her she is, he says, “You will be again.”

She feels his words in her chest, but before she can think too hard about it, she gives him one last smile and turns. When she reaches the top of the stairs, she notices he’s watching her every step of the way.

* * *

Dan arrives with Trixie an hour after Chloe returns home. It’s weird being back home after days away. In all honesty, home has been weird since she’s returned. Another part of her former life that she no longer feels connected to.

Trixie rushes into the house, drops her backpack, and throws her arms around Chloe’s waist. “Hi, Monkey,” Chloe says, running her fingers over the top of Trixie’s head to the back. She looks down at her daughter, seeing a similar light in her eyes that she saw in Lucifer’s earlier. Is it love? Adoration? Either way, it makes her feel a small flicker insider her chest.

Chloe looks over at Dan, who doesn’t seem to be rushing off like he has for the last few weeks.

For a moment longer, before she needs to talk to Dan—because she knows why he’s hovering—Chloe focuses on Trixie. “How was your day, Trixella?”

“It was good,” she says dropping her arms. She pushes hair from her own forehead, looking so young, but so grown at the same time. “We’re subtracting numbers now which is hard and I don’t like Mrs. Bradley and—”

“Wait, why don’t you like your art teacher?”

Trixie kicks the hardwood floors with the toe of her shoe. “She’s making us do a stupid project where we have to only use black and white to paint and it looks dumb.”

“Hey,” Chloe says, sinking down to crouch onto Trixie’s level. Her daughter’s dark eyes meet hers. “You don’t normally get like this over one project. And you certainly don’t talk about not liking someone. What’s up?”

Trixie just shrugs.

Dan walks over, places a hand on Trixie’s shoulder. “You can tell us.” She looks up at him. “We won’t be mad.”

Trixie shakes her head a little. “It’s…nothing.”

Chloe reaches up to stroke Trixie’s cheek. “If it’s something upsetting you, then it’s not nothing. But you don’t have to tell us anything.” She looks to Dan, who doesn’t disagree with her. “But we are here to listen.”

“Can we paint our own pictures tonight, Mommy?”

“Of course, baby.”

Trixie seems a little happier.

Chloe sighs and stands. “Why don’t you get all your painting things and some newspaper and we’ll paint at the table?”

“Okay!”

With that, Trixie’s off, leaving Dan with Chloe. She folds her arms over her chest. “What was that?”

He rubs the back of his neck. “She’s struggling. I think there’s another girl in her art glass giving her a hard time, but she won’t talk to me about it. Maybe you can get the truth out of her.”

Chloe looks towards Trixie’s door. “You trust me with that?”

“I trust you, Chloe,” he says.

She looks at Dan and pulls him away from Trixie so they can talk. She turns to him in the kitchen with a sigh. “You’re talking to me,” she tells him.

He knits his brows together. “I never stopped talking to you, Chlo.”

“Dan, you haven’t said more than two words to me for weeks.”

He nods. “You’re right. I’m…after everything we’ve been through in our marriage and raising Trixie together, I was mad at you for not telling me what happened to you.”

“Was?”

“I’m not one-hundred precent yet,” he admits. “But…” She can tell he’s struggling. She hears Trixie gathering things in the other room, realizing they don’t have limitless time, but she also doesn’t want to rush him. Dan releases a sharp breath. “Okay, I shouldn’t be telling you this.” Chloe’s on alert now. “I had my meeting with the Commissioner yesterday.” Her spine tightens. “It’s not good, Chloe. He was asking me these questions about your mental competence. He knew that you haven’t seen Trixie a lot. He _knew_ and I have no idea how because I didn’t tell him.”

Chloe’s arms tighten around herself. “What do you think it means?”

“Worse case scenario?” She nods. “I think they might stretch this thing past just work. Get child services in here to check on Trixie and right now, they might not like what they see.”

Chloe feels like something is sucked out of her chest. “But I love her. I treat her well.”

“You do! I know that. Trixie knows that. But…right now, sometimes, it seems like you don’t like her very much. Or you can’t stand being around us, and—” he cuts off when Trixie walks into the room carrying an armful of art supplies.

Chloe doesn’t realize she’s started crying until she feels a tear hanging off her chin. Dan takes her upper arms, speaking low, “If there’s anything you can do, Chlo, you have to do it. I’m protecting you. I told them you’re an incredible mom. I might not be able to save your job, but I won’t let them meddle in our family.”

“But…what can you do?”

“We’re still married,” he reminds her. “Legally. Although the whole you being dead thing kind of messes that up.” He drops his hands from her arms. “But you’re still my wife. I think we pretend to be a happy little family until this is all over.”

She wipes away more tears. “But you said they know things. Are they watching?”

Dan sighs. “I don’t know. But…they seemed to know a lot about your relationship with Lucifer.”

“What did they say?” It’s all so new, she wants to tell Dan. 

“All I know is the Commissioner asked if you’d been spending your evenings with him. I told him I don’t know, since I don’t.” She opens her mouth, but he cuts her off. “And I don’t want to know. I need to not lie, Chloe. I’m doing my best to get them to stop focusing on your personal life, but for some reason that’s the angle they’re working with.”

She nods, realizing something. “Of course that’s their angle. There’s nothing in the case that would point them to some conspiracy. I wasn’t part of some secret agency or government agency or anything. I wasn’t undercover. I was just a detective on the job. They have no other leads.”

“I think you’re right.”

“Shit,” she mutters. “Do you know when they’re going to question me?”

“Soon, I think. I suspect Lucifer will be getting a call, too.”

“He can’t lie, but they won’t understand the truth.”

Dan stares at her. “What is the truth?”

Chloe looks at him. His eyes desperate. He needs some kind of answer. If only Dan could see Heaven for a moment, then he’d believe everything. All it took was Heaven for Chloe to believe Lucifer is the Devil and Amenadiel is an angel. God, Hell, all of it. But Dan can’t see any proof without going to Heaven or seeing Lucifer’s wings and maybe that’s too much. It’s all too much.

But even so, she doesn’t want to keep lying, so she tells the basic truth. “I was resurrected.”

Dan says nothing.

Neither does Chloe.

He allows the quiet to stretch between them before finally saying, “You’re not lying.”

She shakes her head. “No, I’m not.”

“And Lucifer…?” he asks.

“He…helped.”

“Why?”

“It’s part of his family business, in a way.”

Dan looks away. “Don’t tell me anymore.”

“I won’t. But could you imagine saying that to the police commissioner? They’ll lock me up. I don’t know what to do.” Trixie is now settled at the table. 

“Look,” he says and she looks back at him. “The police commissioner doesn’t _want_ to ruin your career, your life. I don’t think. He and his team want to get to the bottom of all this. We just need to give him as much of the truth to realize they have nothing. None of this has anything to do with them. You died on their watch and they filed the reports, but you coming back isn’t about them.”

Chloe has one of those lightbulb moments. “Dan! You’re right! My coming back has nothing to do with the LAPD. That’s our angle.” 

“So, how do we work it?”

“I don’t know yet, but think on it. I’ll do the same.”

She knows she should trust in Lucifer, in Amenadiel, that maybe Zachriel will come through. But what if he doesn’t? What if it takes him years? She needs to be at work. Needs some kind of normalcy. And she certainly needs her daughter in her life, not just on weekend visits at the zoo with a social worker breathing down her neck. 

Chloe needs a plan B in case Zachriel doesn’t come through.

She feels a softness for Dan and reaches over to hug him. He reluctantly hugs her back. “Thank you.”

After a moment, “We’re a team, Chlo. We always have been.”

“I know. I appreciate you.”

As they break apart, Chloe feels support from Dan. He was angry before because they don’t do that. They don’t lie to each other, but maybe now he understands why she had to. She watches Dan kiss Trixie goodnight. When he leaves, he gives Chloe a small nod. 

Chloe has to get herself together, so she turns her back to Trixie again and wipes her tears, fanning her face with her hands. It feels like the floodgates are opening, so she takes deep breaths. Slow, deep breaths. After a minute, she thinks she feels better and then she feels little arms around her waist again. She looks down at Trixie.

“Hi, baby,” she says, trying to sound strong. “I’ll be right there to paint with you.”

“That’s okay, Mommy. You need a hug first.”

“Why do you think I need a hug?”

“Because you always hug me when I’m sad.”

Chloe sighs and drops down to properly hug Trixie. She holds her daughter tightly, trying to be as strong as Trixie is. Her daughter feels so good in her arms and it’s hard to imagine she might’ve never come back for a moment like this. When Chloe pulls back, she cups Trixie’s cheeks in her hands. “You’re a very good hugger.”

She beams. “I know! Do you feel better?”

“I do,” she says with complete confidence. “Let’s paint.”

Trixie leads Chloe to the table and they sit side by side.

* * *

Chloe pulls the sheet and blanket up Trixie’s body as she snuggles down into her bed. “Mommy, when is Lucifer coming over again?”

“Do you want Lucifer to come over again?” Chloe asks, sitting down on the bed.

“I like him. He’s funny.”

“He _is_ funny. And I don’t know. I didn’t want him to come over if you thought you might not get my full attention.”

Trixie shrugs. “I know you love me more.” She sounds older than her seven years.

“I will _always_ love you more.”

“Do you love Lucifer?”

Chloe feels like a deer in the headlights, eyes wide as she looks at Trixie. “Why would you ask that?”

“You don’t love Daddy anymore, so you love Lucifer.”

She sighs. “That’s not really how it works, babe. I will always love your dad, but just in a different way. And just because I’m not in love with your dad doesn’t mean I have to be in love with someone else. Love…it just happens sometimes. You spend time with someone and they understand you. They accept the bad things about you and they care about your happiness. When you find someone like that, maybe…if you’re lucky, you’ll fall in love.”

“Does Lucifer understand you?”

Chloe laughs a little. “When did you turn forty?”

“Yesterday,” Trixie jokes.

Chloe shakes her head, a grin on her lips. “Well, stop it. Stay little. You don’t need to worry about grown up things.”

“I don’t worry about them,” Trixie says. “I just notice stuff. Dad tells me to stop doing that, too.”

“The way your mind works. Let it flourish, little one.” Chloe leans down to kiss each of Trixie’s cheeks, effectively moving the conversation away from her and Lucifer. “So, what book should we read?”

Trixie reaches for _Harry Potter_ , of course.

After Trixie is asleep, Chloe cleans the rest of the paintbrushes in the sink. She tries to think faraway, about anything—even the police commissioner—but her mind keeps coming back to one thing. One person. Being or whatever. Lucifer. _Love…it just happens sometimes_. Her own words rattle around in her mind and its distressing because she’s speaking from experience. Not the experience of loving Dan or Jed, or any of the men before. She was speaking about right now.

Chloe would be a fool to claim she doesn’t love Lucifer. Of course she does. She’s loved him from the moment she opened her eyes and settled on his face. She remembers he was familiar and seeing him was almost a relief, but it took her brain a moment to place him. _Lucifer_ , the first word she spoke after being reborn, in a way.

She closes her eyes, feeling the hot water on her fingers. She loves him.

Her phone buzzes on the countertop and she takes the time to clean the paint from her fingers and dry them before checking. She thinks it might be Dan, but she hopes…

_I’m not sure I agree with this two-day separation any longer._

She smiles and types back, _Trixie misses you. She said she likes you._

_I’d tolerate her if it meant seeing you._

_You like her, too._

_I plead the fifth._

Chloe laughs. _Breakfast tomorrow? Stay the day and sleepover?_

_I have an appointment with Linda. I’ll come for breakfast and return afterwards_. He then adds, _If that’s alright with Trixie_.

_She’ll love that. Goodnight, Lucifer._

_Goodnight, Chloe._

She sighs and rereads her name typed out by his fingers. Just five letters. After a moment, she thinks, _he loves me, too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I truly appreciate you.


	22. If you get in a fight, don’t hit first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For whatever reason, I was anxious posting the last chapter, so I appreciate all the kind comments. At the current posting rate, I will have everything posted before Christmas, which is good. Also, I have 32 chapters listed at the moment, but it might turn to 33. I wrote chapter 31 this weekend and it is a behemoth, so once I edit, I might have 33 total chapters to share. I'm sure you guys don't mind!

Lucifer carries a takeout cup of coffee upstairs, a stupid smile on his face. He’s been stupid smiling a lot lately, which feels unreal, but he can’t shake it. He’s not sure he minds it.

He reaches her door and turns the knob slowly and peeks in before entering. He had a brief thought on the way over that it might be creepy him just showing up when Chloe and Trixie are still sleeping, but then decided Chloe wouldn’t think so. He doesn’t think. If she does, he’ll hear it from her immediately.

Chloe is sleeping on the right side, her side, her hands tucked beneath her chin and her knees tucked up to her chest. She looks peaceful and suddenly Lucifer worries about waking her up. How might he wake her up without scaring her to death? He hovers at the end of the bed, which seems even worse. She’s a single mom who lives alone, recently returned from Heaven, and is a cop with a gun, probably, stowed away in this house. And now that Lucifer can be hurt, he believes, he can’t risk her pointing a weapon at him.

He sets the coffee next to her alarm clock and turns to leave. He’ll wait downstairs.

“Lucifer?” he hears behind him.

He turns. She blinks her eyes slowly at him. “Hi,” he greets with a warm smile. “I had this whole romantic wakeup planned and then I remembered you’re a single woman living alone and it might be weird for some man to be in your bedroom. So, I was going to wait downstairs.”

She smiles a little. “That’s too many words for this early.”

Lucifer chuckles and walks over to the bed. He sits down in the crescent her body makes, her legs tucked behind him and her head by his knees. “Good morning. Is that simpler?”

Chloe nods. Her hand reaches out from beneath the covers to find his. “Kiss me,” she tells him.

He laughs. “Yes, ma’am.” He leans in to kiss her slowly, not deeply. A long, lingering close-mouthed kiss. Something that promises parted lips later, when they have more time. He pulls back and hooks his fingers behind her ear, pushing her hair back. “You look beautiful.”

“I like the fact that you can’t lie in a moment like this.”

He strokes her cheek with his thumb. “How did you sleep?”

“Okay, but is it pathetic if I say I missed you?”

“No. I missed you, too,” he assures her without allowing a moment to pass.

Chloe looks over at the clock and her eyebrows go up. “I thought I smelled coffee.”

“I wasn’t sure how took your coffee, so I put in a little milk and sugar.”

She pushes herself up to a seated position. She’s wearing an oversized t-shirt and looks divine. She lifts the coffee cup to her lips and says, “Non-fat almond milk latte with sugar free caramel is my speed. But this will work.”

“A complicated order. I should’ve known.”

“Was Trixie up when you got here?”

“Not that I saw. I decided creeping around a seven-year-old’s room would be bad form.”

“Good choice.” She uses both her hands to hold the cup. He watches her eyes appraise him, looking from his face and drawing a line down along his chest. He smirks to himself. When he eyes reach his crotch, she looks back up swiftly. Her eyes narrow. “I wasn’t thinking anything.”

“Mm-hmm,” he keeps smirking. “How did last night go?”

Chloe smiles and he notices the smile reaches her eyes. “Good, actually. Well, good with Trixie. And actually good with Dan, too.” It looks like she might say something else, but she stops herself. Then it seems like she reconsiders. “He offered to pretend to be a happy family to save face with the Commissioner.”

“Really?” Lucifer asks with an edge to his voice.

“He was just trying to be nice.”

“Are you thinking of taking him up on that offer?”

Chloe thinks, but only for a moment. “No. I’m not comfortable with lying in that way, especially not now. It’d mean we’d have to hide our…relationship, which I have no plans of doing.”

“Good. Although, I do support any decision you make.”

“I know. Thank you.”

Lucifer hears the footsteps on the stairs. “Should I be here?” he asks, willing to hide in the closet, if necessary.

“Yeah,” she says, nodding. Her hand takes his again.

Her hand in his is all the confirmation he needs.

Trixie comes bursting into the room and then stops in her tracks when she sees Lucifer. Her face opens like a lotus flower. She rushes at him and he tenses. Her arms wrapping around the back of his neck. “Oof,” he says when her body strikes his, but not because it hurts. But it is a kind of pain. “Glorious,” he says sarcastically.

“Trix,” Chloe says with a little laugh. “You can’t just throw yourself at people.”

“But this is Lucifer,” she says, her little lisp between her missing teeth.

She slides off of Lucifer and climbs up into the bed next to Chloe. Chloe pulls back the covers to let Trixie in. Lucifer notices her bare legs and his eyes flick to hers. She smirks and he realizes they’ve just had the same thought.

Chloe wraps her arm around Trixie and he notices an ease between the two of them, one he hasn’t seen since he first met Trixie. Chloe doesn’t seem to tense beside her daughter. Trixie looks up at her mother adoringly. Lucifer finds it strange that the sight warms him and he knows it’s mostly because it’ll give Chloe some ease, but also there’s something lovely about the two of them together.

Lucifer looks away, taking in Chloe’s bedroom for a moment, remembering the last time he was here. Just holding her as she fell asleep. It was the first time he felt her inside him, her fingers crawling into his guts to place herself there. A constant reminder of her to warm him.

“Should we get some breakfast in your tummy?”

“Yes please,” Lucifer answers.

Trixie and Chloe laugh. “She wasn’t asking you!”

“I can’t have breakfast in my tummy?” he asks, sticking out his lower lip dramatically.

Trixie pretends to think on it. “Okay. I guess so.”

“Thank you, Ms. Espinoza.”

“I’ll meet you guys down there. I’ll just get dressed.” Lucifer’s eyes darken. “Alone.”

“Please don’t be a buzzkill, Detective,” he tells her.

“That’s my line!”

Lucifer leaves the room with Trixie, despite desperately wanting to stay.

Later, after breakfast, Chloe helps Trixie get her things together for school and Lucifer hangs back, allowing them to run through their morning routine in peace. He pulls his flask from his suit jacket and takes a sip. He walks around the living room, looking at the framed photographs, the pictures Trixie’s drawn on the walls. 

Chloe keeps her home feeling home-y. He suspects a lot of that is because of Trixie, but he notices candles with burnt wicks and photography table books. She has a few records and a record player. On the couch are worn pillows, which are probably perfect for resting your head on to watch a movie on a rainy afternoon. 

Lucifer listens to the ebb and flow of Chloe and Trixie’s conversation. He smiles to himself.

“Alright,” Chloe says, walking into the room. “What’s up?” she asks him.

He turns to her. “Nothing. Just inspecting your space.”

“Well, to be fair a lot of this isn’t mine. This is my mom’s house. She usually rents it out but after the separation, well…” she approaches him. Lucifer looks over and Trixie isn’t in the room yet, so he steals a quick kiss. “Hey!” Chloe says right after. She acts annoyed, but her fingers reaching for his gives her away.

He adjusts his dark blue suit jacket. “I need to leave soon for my appointment with Dr. Linda. I haven’t seen her since she saw my wings, so I think my session today will be less about me.”

“What are you doing to tell her?”

“Everything. I’ll answer all of her questions.”

Chloe sighs. “I wish I could do that. It’d make life easier.”

He reaches up to stroke her cheek. “We’ll figure something out.”

“I know.” She looks up at him and without even worrying about what Trixie might see or think, Chloe reaches up to kiss Lucifer. Slow, tasting his tongue with hers. He sighs against her and takes her by the waist. 

“You’re kissing,” Trixie says, interrupting.

Chloe pulls back and wipes at her lips. Lucifer just smirks.

“We…were,” Chloe says easily. “Is that okay?”

Trixie looks at Lucifer and then back to her mom. She nods. “It’s okay.”

Lucifer and Chloe share a brief smile. Trixie throws her backpack over her shoulder. Lucifer squeeze’s Chloe’s side. “I’ll be back right after my session, unless you wanted time to yourself.”

She shakes her head. “No. I don’t need time alone.”

He kisses her once more. He let’s go of her side and her hand and he clears his throat. “Well, small human, enjoy your day at school. If you get in a fight, don’t hit first.”

“Lucifer…”

He ignores Chloe. “And don’t sit in the front row like a nerd. Like your mother.”

Chloe smirks and shakes her head. He winks at her. He buttons his suit jacket and gives them one last look before heading out into the morning.

* * *

Linda sits down with a sigh and Lucifer just waits. He thinks about how much has happened since his last session. He wasn’t even on speaking terms with Chloe last time. He wouldn’t even talk _about_ her to Linda. And now, they’re together. They’ve not decided what that means, but they’re certainly sleeping together and they certainly both have feels for one another.

Lucifer knows today is about answering Linda’s questions, and he’s happy to oblige, but it might be nice to work through the tangle of his feelings for Chloe. He knows that whenever he sees her, he’s happy. Excited. He wants her around all the time and he hates the idea of spending a night apart, which is laughable, really. Lucifer can count on one hand the number of partners who’ve shared his bed more than once and now Chloe’s set his world record, easily. 

He doesn’t want anyone else, which would be laughable to his former self, too. Because that’s what it feels like; it feels like he is a completely different person and he’s not sure that’s a bad thing.

But for now, he focuses on Linda. He can work through his emotions later.

“So, it’s all real,” she says.

“Yes.”

“No metaphors.”

“No.”

“You are the son of God. A fallen angel. Hell is your dominion, where you torture humans.”

Lucifer grins a little. “I’m not _currently_ torturing humans, but yes, that is supposed to be my job. I prefer _punish_ over torture, just in terms of semantics. Although, I’m more management. I command my demon followers to do most of the dirty work. I do enjoy popping in to see how I can torture Hitler every now and then, but I mostly just observe.”

“Demons,” Linda repeats.

“Yes. Maze is one.”

“Maze is a…Jesus Christ.” She has a moment of recognition. “Wait, you said Jesus wasn’t who we thought, right?”

“More or less. He was a charismatic guy who made good wine. Out of grapes, not blood.”

“So, Judaism is a closer definition of reality?”

Lucifer thinks of the best way to explain. “Well, everyone has something right, but no one has enough right to call themselves correct.”

Linda doesn’t even have a notepad on her lap today because it’d probably be too much to even write down. “And you just left Hell. Don’t you have to go back?”

“I have no plans to. If Father is concerned, he can make someone else the warden. I have a life here now.”

Linda nods, digesting everything. Lucifer has thought about Hell a lot in the last five years. At first, he thought he’d have to go back, but as each year passes, he thinks he might be able to just live how he wants for some time. At this point, he’d just take the time Chloe is on this Earth, that amount of time, if he has to go back, would be good enough for him. 

“So, tell me about Chloe.”

Lucifer is surprised, but says, “Well, we’re together now. We’ve slept together.”

Linda smiles. “I meant about her resurrection, but if you’d like to talk about that…”

He laughs a little. “Oh, well, I wouldn’t say no to talking about my recent relationship change, but I’ll gladly speak of Chloe in any way I can.”

Linda hides a smile and asks, “How did her resurrection work?”

Lucifer tells Linda the story. Amenadiel talking him into it, going to Chloe’s grave, carrying her body and bringing her to the penthouse, Michael failing at first, the fight, the blood, and then the light pouring from her. “It only took a few minutes and then her eyes were open. She was disoriented at first, but then…seemingly fine.” He thinks about mentioning her connecting issues, but he doesn’t want to speak for her.

“And Michael is your twin brother?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Why don’t you like him?”

“He’s a worse manipulator than my father. He twists situations and lies like a fish out of water. He’s a menace and I don’t trust him at all.”

“But you trusted him to bring Chloe back?”

Lucifer nods slowly, trying to read Linda’s tone. “Yes, but he’s the only one who can do it.”

“God can too, right?”

“Yes, of course, but God can do everything we can. He’s doled out his powers to his children so we can do his bidding. Michael just so happens to be able to resurrect. There wasn’t anyone else that I could’ve trusted. What are you implying?”

“Nothing. I don’t know enough. I just find it interesting that you don’t trust Michael, but in arguably one of the biggest moments of your recent time on Earth, you were made to trust your brother. You put Chloe’s life in his hands.”

Lucifer nods. “Yes, and he did bring her back.”

_I came back wrong_ , Chloe had cried to him that first night in his bed. Right after Lux.

His one hand tightens around his knee. Linda notices. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m… You’ve raised a good point.”

“Do you often find yourself suspicious of your brother?”

“Always.”

Linda shrugs. “Then maybe you’re reading too much into it. I mean, Chloe’s back. Is she doing okay? Last I saw her, she seemed fine.”

Once again, Lucifer doesn’t want to speak for her, but “fine” is relative and he knows Linda would think her inability to connect and her inability to sleep without him—sleep well, at least—would be problematic. He can’t lie though, but he can dodge. “I wouldn’t want to speak for her.”

She nods slowly. “My advice would be to watch her. Check in with her. Don’t be overbearing.”

“I can do that.”

Linda grins. “So, you two really slept together?”

His lips quirk up. “Yes.”

“Tell me more about your relationship.”

For the rest of the season, they flip flop between discussing his current relationship with Chloe and all things celestial. Linda has a lot of questions, but it seems she needs time with each of his answers, so she asks something about him in-between. It’s nice talking about Chloe, seeing Linda’s response to the things he tells her. She nods a lot, smiles. Tells him how it sounds lovely that he brought her coffee this morning.

It’s a good session, the first one in a while that he doesn’t feel badly at any point. Although, he does have some thoughts on Michael’s intentions. He always has concerns of Michael’s intentions.

After meeting with Dr. Linda, Lucifer drives across town to Chloe’s house. He parks out front and feels a familiar thrill in his stomach. He wants her again. He always wants her. He climbs from his car and walks up to the front door. He knocks twice and then turns the handle, needing to see her and unable to wait.

Chloe stands in the middle of the living room, her arms crossed over her chest. Her face softens when she sees him. Lucifer’s eyes cut to Amenadiel. “Brother,” he says.

“Luci.” 

Lucifer walks in, making his way to Chloe. “Everything okay?”

Chloe subtly reaches her fingers for his. He tangles his fingers with hers beside his hip. “‘Luci,’” she says under her breath, repeating after Amenadiel.

“Don’t you dare,” he warns her with a little laugh.

Amenadiel either doesn’t notice or ignores the moment. “I’m glad you’re here. I came to talk to you both about Zachriel.”

Lucifer looks at his brother. “Do you have any information?”

“He’s agreed to meet with you.”

“Really?” Chloe asks, her hand now in Lucifer’s, squeezing his palm.

“But it’s not necessarily the news you want.” Amenadiel looks more dire than usual. “He’s agreed to meet with you, but only to hear you out. He doesn’t plan to help.”

“Why not?” asks Lucifer.

Amenadiel shrugs. “I’m not sure. He just told me he won’t help, but because he’s your brother, he’d give you a chance to explain what you need.”

“I’m glad he’s acting like my brother _now_.” 

“What’s the point, if he’s not going to help?” Chloe sounds desperate.

Lucifer turns his attention to her. “Maybe we can sway him.”

Chloe’s eyes meet his. She looks so sad. He wishes he could properly comfort her, but he doesn’t know what to say and he doesn’t want to around Amenadiel. He runs his thumb over the back of her hand. She forces a slight smile, but he knows she’s trying to make him feel better. 

Amenadiel focuses on Chloe. “It’s a chance,” he reminds her. “It could’ve just been a no, but he’s willing to listen. He’ll be here tomorrow. I’m not sure when, but he’ll meet us at Lucifer’s penthouse.”

“And if he says no…”

“He says no,” Amenadiel confirms.

“We’ll figure something else out,” Lucifer tells her, but he’s not sure what.

Chloe half-turns to Lucifer. “I need to tell you… The Police Commissioner, they scheduled my meeting on Monday. They’re trying to attack my personal life. Get child protective services involved and bring you into it. I think… I don’t know what to do.”

“They won’t take Trixie from you.”

“They could limit how much I see her. A judge could get involved.”

“They _won’t_ take her from you,” he repeats. Lucifer turns back to Amenadiel. “Zachriel doesn’t have a choice. He has to at least change the memories, even if he doesn’t erase them. We’ll talk to him. The three of us will convince him. Amenadiel’s correct; it’s a chance.”

Amenadiel regards them. “I’ll keep trying to convince him, but you two need to plan for possible disappointment tomorrow. I’ll try to speak to Michael, too, just in case he can help.”

“Be careful with Michael.”

“You always suspect Michael.”

“Because he’s suspicious.”

Amenadiel nods. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Early.”

Lucifer nods, turning his attention to Chloe. “We’ll be there.”

After he leaves, Lucifer wraps his arms around Chloe, holding her to his chest. He runs his hands down along her hair. He doesn’t know what to say to her and he doesn’t want to say the wrong thing because he has no answers. She holds tightly to him and sighs softly. 

For a few moments, they just stand quietly. He closes his eyes, pouring as much comfort into her as possible. Lucifer kisses the top of her head and she squeezes him around his middle. He focuses on her breathing, wondering if she can hear his heartbeat in his chest. He’d give anything to make her life easier. He’d take away her pain and take that pain upon himself, if he could. But for now, he does what he can—just be there for her.


	23. I love you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my tardiness today. I had to have an emergency root canal this morning, so...fun? Anyway, here's the next part. I hope you enjoy. If you choose to comment, thank you a million times over. It's been a rough day, so thank you!

Chloe had been pacing Lucifer’s penthouse for hours when Zachriel finally arrives. His light brown wing tuck away as he walks from the terrace and into the main entertaining space. He looks nothing like Lucifer, not that she expected him to. He’s tall, but not as tall as his brothers. Still lithe, like Lucifer. His eyes are an uncommon blue, like two tidepools. He wears primitive clothes, almost like skins from animals, which is…interesting.

He looks around. Chloe wonders how often he’s on Earth because he’s certainly not going to blend in. He approaches Lucifer, totally ignoring her. “It this considered a luxurious home?” he asks oddly.

Chloe gives Amenadiel a look and he just slowly shakes his head.

“Most would consider this luxurious, yes.” Lucifer pauses and then says, “It’s good to see you, brother.”

“Quite a mess you’ve made, Samael.”

“You know that’s not my name.”

Chloe can almost see Lucifer wanting to flash his red eyes, just to punctuate the point.

Zachriel moves around the room in a glide. He touches the top of Lucifer’s piano and then runs a hand over the back of the settee. Chloe glances at Lucifer now, who just rolls his eyes and sighs. He reaches out to her and she easily takes his hand. Lucifer’s eyes track Zachriel, but Chloe doesn’t look away from Lucifer. “I’d like to introduce you to Chloe Decker.”

With a turn of his head, Zachriel glances at her. He looks away just as quickly. “I’ve lived in your memories for a few weeks now, Chloe Jane Decker. You’re…interesting.”

Chloe doesn’t like the thought of anyone living in her memories, especially without her consent. But what a strange thing—world—that requires consent of the memories. She also doesn’t like that he said she’s ‘interesting.’ It feels like there’s an implication there.

“You accept us as we are,” Zachriel says, lifting a book from Lucifer’s desk. He’s making himself comfortable, moving easily through Lucifer’s space. “Michael has a theory that once humans glimpse Heaven, especially, but also Hell, they don’t acclimate back to Earth so well. You, after spending thousands of years in Heaven, I’d expect it’s been almost impossible.”

“Actually,” Lucifer begins, ready to defend her.

Amenadiel interrupts. “Chloe’s struggled to rejoin her life.” He knows if she’s defended, the conversation’s over. So, Amenadiel embellishes where Lucifer can’t. “She’s lost her job, may lose her family. She can’t connect or stay connected to those she loves. She might as well not even be here.” It sounds harsh and Lucifer squeezes her hand in what she can only imagine is anger.

Chloe leans her arm against him, bringing him back to her. Lucifer’s eyes soften when he looks at her. She just nods slightly. She understands what Amenadiel is doing.

Zachriel crosses the room to stand before Chloe now. His eyes bore down into her and she almost gasps from his intensity. Lucifer doesn’t move, holding his ground, if not moving closer. Really pressing against her now. Chloe notices Amenadiel moving into her line of sight. Both of them, protecting her.

She stares right back at Zachriel and she feels…something. Inside her head. Almost like a pulse at the very back of her head. His eyes narrow and Chloe realizes he’s in her memories. Not her current thoughts, no. He’s looking for something. She can almost feel him flipping through folders or checking drawers. It’s…disconcerting to say the least. He stops after a moment. Less than a moment, really. And then her mind is all hers again.

For another few minutes, Zachriel says nothing. He stands right there, practically breathing her air, before stepping away. “You made pasta with your daughter. Told her about Heaven.”

Chloe looks at Lucifer for support, but he’s tracking Zachriel with his eyes. “Is that wrong?” she asks. “I wasn’t told—”

“Just an observation,” Zachriel interrupts. “Do you think she believed you?”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t you consider that connecting with your offspring?”

“It’s not the same. I felt…empty afterwards.”

Lucifer adds, “You should’ve seen her before. It’s different now.” It stings Chloe that Lucifer’s noticed the differences. She knows he’s seen it but hearing him calling her relationship different now hurts. She swallows the lump in her throat.

Zachriel looks up at the ceiling. Staring, staring.

Amenadiel and Lucifer look up, too, but Chloe knows what Zachriel’s seeing.

“The night I came back,” she tells him.

His eyes cut to hers. “Yes. The first thing you saw.”

“I’d just been reliving a memory of Trixie and I visiting the sea lions in La Jolla. She was so happy that day. My little shark,” she says, laughing a little. When she looks at Zachriel again, she feels a prick of tears in the corner of her eyes. “I want that back.”

Zachriel brings his hands together before him. “Do you understand my work?” He doesn’t ask this of one specific person. When no one answers, he continues. “I read memories, like yours,” he says to Chloe. “I relive them. When I’m asked to provide my services, there are two routes: complete erasure or modification. Most cases are erasure. Modification is harder. I am modifying a case from 1963 right now, or at least considering it, but it’ll take a decade for a solution. Your case is simpler, but would also require my time and I’m not willing to offer that right now.”

“Wait,” Lucifer says, dropping Chloe’s hand to walk closer to his brother. “Chloe’s death and resurrection doesn’t just affect her. It affects everyone she’s ever met. Anyone who’s ever watched ‘Hot Tub High School’ or any of her other film projects.” Chloe runs through the few commercials she was in, couple of TV shows, but none of those had the reach. But Lucifer is trying. “For generations, her family will be affected. Her daughter _is_ affected. We’re just asking for you to reconsider.”

Zachriel regards Lucifer. “You were my favorite brother before Father banished you.”

Amenadiel rolls his eyes.

“Then, for our history, please brother.”

Zachriel looks at Chloe again. She wonders if he’ll search her memories again, but she doesn’t feel him. He looks back to Lucifer. “Michael tells me she’s tethered to you. Quite unusual.”

“Have you ever heard of something like this before?” Amenadiel asks.

“No.”

“Do you know what it means?” Chloe asks.

“No.”

The room is charged with frustration and Chloe can practically see it coming off Lucifer’s skin in waves. She walks closer and presses her hand in the middle of his shoulder blades, right where his wings expand from his back. He looks at her while she looks at Zachriel.

“Please,” she begs. “I…I can’t live like this.”

Lucifer tenses and she runs her hand soothingly along his spine.

Zachriel keeps his gaze on hers for a moment too long, before requesting, “I need a quiet space.”

Lucifer points towards his bedroom. “We can wait on the terrace. Or downstairs at Lux.”

“The terrace will be fine. Keep your voices down.”

Chloe takes Lucifer’s hand as the two of them follow Amenadiel out onto the terrace. Lucifer shuts the doors behind them, just in case. Amenadiel shakes his head. “I still don’t think it’ll be good news. He sees you as one human in a sea of many.”

“What’s the 1963 case?” Chloe asks.

“JFK,” Lucifer tells her.

Her eyes widen. “Zachriel might…what? Remove JFK’s shooting from everyone’s memory? But that has to be—”

“The whole world, practically,” Lucifer says.

Chloe deflates and sits down in one of the padded chairs, folding her hands into her lap. “Oh,” she says because it makes sense that Zachriel wouldn’t care about her. She’s one human. Nothing compared to one of the best-known United States presidents. She can’t compete with that and nothing she says will be as compelling as the first or second most notable moments of the 1960s in America.

Lucifer sits down beside her. “We might need to consider plan B.”

“Any ideas?”

No one says anything.

She just nods and stares forward.

It’s quiet for a while. Chloe runs her hands along her jeans, wiping away the sweat. Lucifer and Amenadiel take turns looking at her, but she never returns their concerned glances because there’s nothing they can do. If Zachriel says no, that’s that. Either Chloe has to start telling people the truth, which will make her sound crazy, or she needs to leave. Move somewhere no one knows her. Start over, if that’s possible. But it’s not possible because of Trixie and Dan. Because of Lucifer.

She finally looks at him. He meets her gaze and she sees his heartbreak for her. She offers him a small smile. Genuine, even if it’s brief. She doesn’t pay any mind to Amenadiel. She leans in to kiss him. Lucifer’s mouth is yielding to hers. She drags her tongue along his bottom lip, just because she can. His hand takes her by the back of her head and her one hand fists his lapel. Everything she’s felt in the last few weeks, she pours into him.

They break apart just as Zachriel opens the doors to the terrace. Chloe looks at him, noticing him retreating back inside. It’s an invitation. The three of them walk back inside.

Chloe releases a shaky breath as they stand before Zachriel. 

The tension from before still lingers.

Eventually, Zachriel says, “I’ve done some thinking. Revisited some memories.” Chloe is even more disturbed that she _didn’t_ feel him in her mind this time. “I’ve decided I can help you.”

“Really?” her voice comes out more boisterous than she’d planned.

Lucifer grins at her. She feels a flush of relief.

“I’ll erase your death from the memory of everyone involved.”

Chloe doesn’t know what to think, what to say. She wants to hug him, but he gives off a very loud don’t-hug-me vibe, so she doesn’t. But she turns to Lucifer, prepared to hug him, when a thought crosses her mind. “‘Everyone involved,’” she repeats, looking up at Lucifer. Her concern follows him. “Not Lucifer or I, right?”

“Lucifer is a celestial; I can’t alter or delete his memories.”

“And me?” she asks.

“You would also be affected. Your death would be erased from your memory, including any moment pertaining to your death.”

She shakes her head, piecing it together. “But that would mean…”

“Me,” Lucifer says. He doesn’t even think twice. “Okay.”

“Okay?!” she wants to scream. “Not okay.”

Zachriel holds out his hands. “That is all I can offer.”

“No,” Chloe says right as Lucifer says, “Yes.”

She glares at him. “No,” she repeats. 

Lucifer looks at Zachriel and Amenadiel before turning to Chloe. He takes her by the upper arm gently and guides her to the side for a moment. “Chloe,” he says softly. “This is what you wanted.”

“No, it’s not.”

“You wanted your life back and Zachriel can give that to you.”

“I want my old and new lives. I need both.”

“You’re being greedy,” he tries to tease, but his joke just lands at his feet. When he notices Chloe won’t respond to teasing right now, he sighs. “We’re not arguing this. You’ll still know me. We’ll just…find each other again.”

“Actually,” Zachriel interrupts. “The Jimmy Barnes case will be removed, as well, since that’s why she was shot. You won’t know each other. Or, rather, she won’t know you.”

“Absolutely not.”

“If that’s your answer…”

“No!” Lucifer turns back to Chloe. He cups her cheeks in his hands. “Listen to me, love, you have to do this. This is your chance with Trixie. Your career. Your life. I’m…” He smiles, but she can see his pain. “I’m not worth it. You deserve better than a half-lived life. A life among sheets.”

She reaches up to grasp his wrists. “That’s not what this is.”

His smile slips. “I know that, but…you must do this. For Trixie.”

Chloe feels herself being pulled in two directions. Saying yes to Zachriel is so final. No do-over. No chance at another path. If she goes the other way, maybe she can convince people that her death and resurrection were…normal. Not a big deal. She was once an actress. Maybe she can act the hell out of this.

Zachriel’s offer is too final. “No.” She says. She pulls Lucifer’s hands from her face. “No. I decline your offer.”

“Chloe…” Amenadiel tries.

She looks at him. “No,” she says firmly.

“Detect—”

“NO!” she shouts. “I _decline_ your offer. If you can return an offer where I’d keep my memories, then I’d hear you out.”

“I will not offer you that.”

Lucifer stands beside her, tense. “Then, thank you for the offer, but it’s been declined.”

In the blink of an eye, Zachriel is gone and so are the last dredges of her hope. Amenadiel and Lucifer descend upon her, concerned. Questions flying at her, but she doesn’t hear either of them. She looks up in their sets of dark eyes. She isn’t mad at her decision. She doesn’t regret it, which makes her feel like a bad mother. But she couldn’t erase him.

She looks at Lucifer. His lips are moving. It feels like when she first woke up all over again. 

Chloe takes a step back. Somehow, she manages to say, even if she doesn’t truly hear her own voice, “I’m going to take a bath. Alone.”

She spends the rest of the night alone. Eventually, she does hear Lucifer and Amenadiel, bickering somewhere in the other room. She takes a bath, turning the hot water all the way up, and sinks down until the bubbles hit her chin. Lucifer stays away. Even once she no longer hears Amenadiel, she’s alone. 

Time passes and she climbs from the tub. She can’t stop thinking. Her brain is running a mile a minute and she needs to sleep. She hears him on the piano, but she ignores the melody. She climbs into his sheets still a bit damp, not a stitch of clothes on her body. She doesn’t sleep, not at first. She just listens to him playing something sad. When she does fall asleep, she’s alone in the bed.

She thinks she dreams, but about what, she can’t remember.

Chloe wakes up and it’s not morning. Not even close. She sits up in the empty bed. She can tell by the disarray of the sheets and pillows, Lucifer has been beside her, but everything is cold. She hears him at the piano again. It sounds like he’s trying to play quietly. She turns and sets her feet on the floor. She reaches for the bathrobe on the chair in the corner, one of his black robes that she’s basically stolen for her own purposes.

She walks down the steps, tying the robe around her waist. His eyes are closed as he plays. Whiskey in a glass on the top of the piano. His eyes open as she approaches. “Did I wake you?” he asks.

“No. I had a dream.”

“A good one?”

“I can’t remember.”

His fingers slide from the keys and suddenly the penthouse is quiet. Too quiet. They stare at each other.

Finally, Lucifer says, “You made a mistake.”

She shakes her head. “No. I didn’t. Zachriel offered to erase my memories. He didn’t say that I’d suddenly feel connected to Trixie again. Because I don’t think it’s my memories that are the problem, Lucifer.” She leans against his piano, clasping her hands in front of her. “I don’t know what happened, but Zachriel can’t fix how I feel. Losing my memories will just feel like a hole in my life. I’ll never be able to explain the second hole in my life. The tether that keeps us connected. I feel it sometimes. How can I live a life without knowing it leads me to you?”

“I told you; I’ll find you.”

“It’s not a deal that works for me.”

“Why not? You could be back at work tomorrow.”

Chloe looks at him. His dark eyes. The power in the way he looks back at her. She feels his stare everywhere. She’s been scared. Feeling so much and not knowing what’s real or not. Not wanting to worry. But tonight was free will. Plain and simply.

So, it’s easy for her to say, “I love you.”

Lucifer’s eyes flicker, suddenly glossy as he stares at her. His lips turn up a little. She smiles a little back at him. It felt so good the first time, she says it again. “I love you, Lucifer.”

Her heart is absolutely racing. She doesn’t need him to say it back. She just needed to say it because she’s been feeling it for so long. His eyes tell her everything she needs to know. When he does speak, he whispers, “Come here.”

Chloe walks around the piano as Lucifer scoots the bench back, giving her space to stand before him. He takes her by the waist and pulls her to him. Her legs spread as she falls into his lap, straddling his waist. She wraps her legs around his back and he holds her against his chest. He leans back enough to look at her. She leans back to look at him and her back hits a few of the keys, filling the room with sharp noise.

Lucifer’s fingers slide along her thighs. He grips her and she feels him beneath her. She grinds down against him, causing him to groan softly. Chloe wraps her arms around his neck. “Make love to me,” she says to him earnestly.

He needs to hear nothing else. Lucifer holds her hip while he reaches down with his other hand to pull himself from his silk pajama pants. His chest is bare, so Chloe leans down and kisses all along his shoulders, feeling his warm skin in her palms. He pulls back her robe enough to expose her to him. He runs his cock along her and she sighs. She cups his left cheek in her hand, leaning in to now kiss along his right-side jaw. 

When he enters her, they both make their feelings known—moaning into the silent room. She rocks against him and he helps her, holding her hips and moving her against him. She quickly becomes heady, leaning her forehead to his. Her eyes are screwed shut. She rests her thumb on his lower lip, feeling his breath spurting out with each movement.

Lucifer plants his feet on the floor and pushes up, thrusting up inside her. She cries out, never releasing her tight grip on him, not even for a second. _More, more, more_ , she keeps thinking, but she can’t vocalize it. She can’t do anything but pant and listen to his ragged breathing.

When they come, it’s almost together. Him holding her shaking body and her holding his.

Lucifer’s lips are on her ear. He licks from her earlobe all the way up along the shell of her ear. It turns her on and she tighten around him. She could fall asleep like this. Safe and warm. She can’t let this go. 

And then he says it.

“I love you, too, Chloe.”


	24. I'm happy to play my part.

Lucifer puts his Corvette in park in front of the precinct. Chloe can feel his eyes on her, but she doesn’t move for a moment. Her stomach has been turning since she received the original notice and she doesn’t feel any better after talking to Zachriel. Admitting she loves Lucifer, and hearing him say it back, has certainly softened the blow, but the rest of her life depends on how this meeting goes. She’s not sure she’s ever been so worried.

When she does look at him, he gives her a soft grin. His eyes soften. “What’s the plan?”

“I’m going to tell the truth.”

He cocks his head to the side. “Really?”

“Nothing else makes sense. If they eventually call you, our stories have to line up and if they don’t, I’m done. I’m probably done either way, but I’m so tired of lying, Lucifer.” His hand takes hers. She feels the tether shift in her stomach. “If they lock me up in some mental care facility, do you promise to break me out?”

“Absolutely,” he says with a goofy smile. “I’ll fly right in. Give them something to gossip about.”

She nods. “Good. That’ll work.” She turns serious again. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”

“I do. I think it’s the only thing you can do.” He sighs. “My offer to you still stands. I could try to work my magic. Reveal some desires.”

“Thanks, but I think I have to go at it alone.”

Lucifer nods. She leans across the seat to wrap her hand around the back of his neck, pressing her mouth to his. Lucifer kisses her back slowly, offering her his tongue. She moans and her mouth also opens. For a moment, she’s distracted and it’s the most blissful moment of her day.

As they pull apart, she draws her thumb down his bottom lip. “Don’t go too far, okay?”

“I’m not leaving from this spot,” he says and he turns off the car.

Chloe sighs and climbs from the car. She looks back once, just as she shuts the door, and Lucifer is just watching her. She heads for the front doors and notices as someone holds open the door for her. At first, she thinks it might be Lucifer, but when she looks up from following her feet, Ella is grinning at her.

“Thanks, Ella.”

The two of them walk into the building together. “You’re thanking me, but I should be thanking you!”

“Why?”

Chloe presses the button for the elevator.

“For that little performance I just witnessed. You and Lucifer…macking in the car.”

Chloe tightens her arms around her waist. “We weren’t…it was just…” she sighs. The elevator arrives and Chloe walks in after it empties. Ella wears a knowing grin. “Fine, we were kissing. We do that from time-to-time.”

Ella laughs and presses the button for the precinct. “Not such a bad send-off before your meeting.” The air in the elevator changes as reality settles on Chloe’s shoulders. She nods solemnly and presses the button for the commissioner’s office. “Are you ready?” Ell asks.

“Honestly? No. I could lose everything today.”

“You won’t lose everything. You won’t lose anything. But, if you can no longer be a detective, you still have Trixie and Lucifer. And Dan and me.”

Chloe offers Ella a half-smile. She’s optimistic and Chloe can tell she doesn’t believe Chloe might lose everything she’s worked for, but without some fantastical, but believable, story, she knows there’s a high possibility that she walks away with no career.

The elevator moves too quickly and soon enough, they arrive to Chloe’s stop.

“Call me after, if you need anything,” Ella requests. She wraps her arms around Chloe.

“I will, but I’ll be fine.”

“You will because it’ll go well.”

With one last fake smile, Chloe steps out of the elevator. The Commissioner’s office is similar looking to the precinct with large windows and an open floor plan. Chloe walks towards the reception desk and gives her name. The receptionist’s eyes go wide and Chloe know she knows at least part of her story. Chloe takes a seat until her name is called.

Since their meeting with Zachriel Saturday night, Chloe has been pretty clear on what she needs to do. Lying is draining her as much as her lack of work lately, so there’s only one thing to do. Ever since she decided to tell the truth, Chloe has felt calmer. She’s still nervous, her heart pounding in her chest, but she’s satisfied with her decision, no matter the outcome. From here on out, she doesn’t need to lie.

Her phone vibrates to alert her of a new text. _Did you ever enjoy roller blading?_

Chloe laughs. She can picture Lucifer sitting in his car, taking in the world around him.

_I quite think I’d like it. Flying is better, probably. Remind me to take you flying sometime._

She thinks of his wings, but then Chloe wonders if Lucifer is a secret pilot or something. She texts back. _Like you holding me in your arms kind of flying?_

_Yes. Is that something you think you’d enjoy?_

_Definitely_. After a moment she adds, _Yes, I was big into rollerblading and skating. I was raised in the 80s and 90s, after all_. After another moment, _Thank you for distracting me._

_You’re welcome, Detective. I think we should find some churros once you’re finished. I’m quite peckish for something bad for me._

She laughs again. _That sounds amazing._

_The offer is still on the table._

_I’ll be fine. I’ll survive._

_I’ve never doubted that._

“Chloe Decker?”

Chloe looks up at an imposing man, one she only knows from photos around the precinct. Newspaper articles and the like. She stands, sliding her phone into her purse. “Commissioner Bradley,” she says respectfully, offering her hand.

He seems cold as she offers her hand, taking it, but eyeing her. Chloe taps into her years of training, moments when she had to find strength from within to take down a criminal, thwart a shooter, or help defuse a hostage situation. One man will not intimidate her when hundreds have tried and failed before.

Chloe’s known men like Carl Bradley before and he certainly isn’t too big for his britches.

“I wanted to apologize that I’ll be a few minutes late, but Lydia,” he says, motioning to the receptionist, who seemingly appears from thin air, “will get you set up in the conference room.”

She nods. “No problem, sir.” She knows this tactic and allows herself to be led away by Lydia.

They walk through the open-floor office and eyes track her, which isn’t so different from the precinct. Lydia offers her coffee or water. “Or tea,” she adds. “I always forget about tea.”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

They reach the glass conference room with a great view out into the office and Chloe knows they’ll be an audience for her interview. Interrogation is truly the correct word. Lydia hovers, but Chloe offers her a tight smile, which sends her on her way. She sets down her purse and walks along the backwall, looking out the windows to the freeway below. She won’t sit until the Commissioner, and she assumes his team, sits. They’re trying to sweat her out. She wonders if they used the same tactic on Dan and the other officers.

Time passes, less than she had planned for, and the door opens. Chloe hesitates, playing the game, before turning. Commissioner Bradley walks in with a man and woman flanking him. He motions for her to sit, but Chloe waits. He introduces his council, Jim Talbot and Erin Elliott. Eventually, the three of them sit—after a beat of awkwardness—so Chloe takes her seat. She crosses one leg over the other and rests her joined hands on the table between them.

The Commissioner arranges some folders, with quite the flourish, and is handed another folder by Erin Elliott. They share a look. “Well, Chloe—may I call you Chloe?”

She knows he won’t be calling her Detective Decker, since she’s been ridden of her badge, so she doesn’t have a lot of options. “Yes, that’s fine.” She doesn’t even ask if she can call him Carl.

“Are you ready to begin?”

“Yes. I’m ready.”

The Commissioner begins simply. Asking her to state her name, her position within the LAPD, her dates of employment, etc. He’s establishing a base. Erin takes some notes, although Chloe suspects all this information is in one of those folders. After a few minutes, the interrogation truly begins. “Could you please describe the scene at Jimmy Barnes’s recording studio on January 25, 2016?”

This is the easy part. “Jimmy was in the recording studio. He was unhappy with his artist’s performance, so he was berating him. Lucifer walked in first, asking about the spike in sales for Delilah’s album…” Chloe tells the story. Her accusing him of paying off the shooter with his watch—the same one Delilah gave him. Chloe shooting Jimmy, only for him to shoot her in return. She bypasses the parts of Lucifer comforting her as she lay dying.

Carl makes a mark on one of his pages. “Did you die?” he asks her plainly.

“Yes.”

He looks at her and asks, “You did?”

“I did.”

“Who killed you?”

“Jimmy Barnes. He shot me twice. Once in the shoulder, once in my chest.”

“And you’re confirming that you died by Jimmy Barnes’s bullet?”

“Yes.”

“Was Jimmy part of a conspiracy?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Was him shooting you part of a hit?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

Chloe expected to see this. They’re looking for a cover-up. Some agency—the FBI or CIA—who needed her “dead” for some reason. But everyone seated at this table knows there’s no cover-up. They’ve certainly spoken to higher agencies, sussed out if there was any involvement, which there wasn’t. Even so, Carl needs to ask the questions. 

He continues asking questions along the same lines, trying to dig deep, catch her in a lie maybe, but all her answers are simple: yes or no. Jim and Erin keep writing things down, occasionally passing pieces of paper to Carl, but it all seems like a synchronized dance. They have a role to play, to build tension, to delay the next question. Chloe’s learned all these tactics before, so she knows to only speak once asked a direction question and answer said question with brevity.

Carl clears his throat. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like some coffee?”

“I’m fine.”

“Alright. You returned to work on February 4, 2016.”

“I did.”

“Can you tell me about that day?”

Chloe remembers walking into the precinct with Dan and eyes falling on her. Wide, confused looks. Her desk was memorialized in flowers and cards, which seemed silly since she was clearly alive (not their fault, of course), but she carefully cleared a space while maintaining respect of her co-workers. She felt eyes boring into her and it was a relief when she and Dan were called into Lt. Fisher’s office.

“When Fisher asked you what happened, what did you tell him?”

“I told him I didn’t know.”

“Has he asked you more than once?”

“Yes.”

“Has your answer changed?”

“No.”

“What about Daniel Espinoza? I understand he’s the father to your child and your former partner. Police partner,” he clarifies. “What have you told him?”

Chloe tries to remember exactly what she’s told Dan, but she knows he’s given him a few different answers. She prefaces in saying, “I’m not one-hundred percent sure, but I believe I’ve told him it’s too complicated.”

“What’s too complicated?”

She takes a breath because this is the moment. “My resurrection.”

Three sets of eyes meet hers, but she keeps her gaze sharply on Carl. He leans back in his chair, the pretense of performance now gone. He rests his palms on the arms of the chair. “Your resurrection,” he repeats. “Is that a metaphor?”

“No, sir.”

“So, you’re claiming you’ve been resurrected?”

“Yes.”

Carl’s lips turn up and he chuckles. “You have to be kidding, right?”

“No. I wouldn’t want to waste your time,” she says evenly.

“Chloe,” Carl says with a sigh.

She sits back, matching his posture, and begins, “I was resurrected by Michael, the angel of resurrection. He receives word when a human, who should be kept on Earth, dies and he arrives to resurrect them. Some wires were crossed, which is why it took him so long to get to my body. He dug me up…although,” she stops and thinks. “Actually, I don’t know if he’s the one. One of them dug me up. Amenadiel and Lucifer were there, too. They’re brothers of Michael. Amenadiel is an angel, too, and Lucifer is the Devil, but not the bad guy everyone thinks he is.

“The three of them removed my dead body from my grave and took me to Lucifer’s penthouse to resurrect.” She stops again. “Did you ever exhume my body? Or, rather, my coffin?”

Carl shifts in his seat. “Yes.”

“What did you find?”

He seems reluctant to speak. “An empty coffin.”

She nods. “Makes sense since I’m, you know, here.” Chloe motions to herself. “Michael explained how it all worked—some words, some celestial magic, Lucifer’s blood—which is a new one, but that’s beside the point—and a bright light and I was back. How am I supposed to explain that to the Lieutenant? To Dan? To you? Although, I guess I did just explain it to you.”

There is a stillness in the room. The Commissioner and his council just stare at her. She sounds mad, but madness would be lying for another moment. Chloe feels a weight lift from her shoulders, a lightness settles into her stomach. She still might lose it all, but at least she’ll not go down as a liar.

When another few minutes pass, Chloe asks, “Did you have more questions?”

“I think we should take a five-minute break.”

“Okay.”

Carl, Jim, and Erin all leave the room and walk away with heads huddled down. She stands by the window again. She wishes she were on the other side of the building so she could see Lucifer below, but maybe it’s for the best that she doesn’t see him. She truly needs to do this alone.

More than five minutes pass and Chloe watches the door now. People are abuzz in the office, chattering away, which could be because of her. She’s quite the spectacle. The zombie of the LAPD. She notices the glances and it brings her a type of pleasure when they look away, having been caught. _Didn’t your mothers ever tell you not to stare?_

It’s been at least 15 minutes with no sign of Carl Bradley. Chloe isn’t being held, so she could just leave, but she does him the courtesy of waiting. She never takes her eyes off the office workers, shifting from one to the other as they turn away.

A little while later, Chloe sees Carl walking alone towards her. He walks into the conference room and eyes her. “Sorry for the delay.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes.”

She wonders for a moment if he called some agency to have her committed, but she knows Lucifer would never let that happen. Carl motions for her to sit, but she remains standing.

He plops down in his chair and looks up at her. “You understand what you told me is unimaginable?”

Chloe sits. “Yes.”

“No one will believe you.”

“Hence why I didn’t tell anyone until now.”

“Why even tell me? Why didn’t you just lie?”

Her eyes meet his. “Lie?” she asks. “So, you believe I’m telling the truth?”

“I’m not sure,” he admits. He fiddles with a pen. “I had an aunt,” he says casually. “Her name was Rose and she was a bra burner in the 60s. Really anti-establishment. No gods, no Heaven, no Hell. That is, until she almost drowned. She did drown, actually, and she came back spouting all this shit about a white light. About dying and being brought back by some unseen force.”

“She’s not wrong,” Chloe quips.

Carl looks at her.

“Sorry,” she says with a shrug. “Michael doesn’t really stick around after. He didn’t for me, at least. Without Lucifer an Amenadiel, I don’t think I would’ve really known what happened.”

He shakes his head. “She talked about wanting to go to Heaven. How it felt warm.”

“That wasn’t really my experience.”

“You really were in Heaven?”

Chloe can see this is hard for Carl, so she tries to give him a break. “For a time, yes.” After a a moment she asks, “So, you believe me?”

Carl is careful with his words, “I believe whatever happened to you is unexplained. But I also believe that that’s not going to be enough. If I don’t show up with a report laying out some reasonable answer, questions will be asked.”

“Questions from who?”

“Everyone,” he says without a moment’s pause. “My team, your team. Higher agencies could become involved.” He shakes his head, seemingly as lost as Chloe feels, but it’s a small relief that it seems like he wants to help her. “I’ve been on a few of these cases with no answers and the cop or cops involved are never the same again. They can’t be trusted by their fellow officers. They’re taken off cases. It would be no way for you to retain your career.”

Chloe isn’t afraid of being a pariah; it’s happened before. But she knows without the support of her fellow officers, she’s left in a dangerous position. If no one has your back, then you might be wearing a bullet soon enough.

“Look,” Carl says, leaning into the table, “I can’t promise you anything. Not until the report is written, Detective. Leaning into honesty would be the best course of action.” 

She notices him calling her detective, but she doesn’t press him on it. “I am usually honest, but it’s hard to be honest when you spend eons in Heaven before being returned to your body by two angels and the Devil.”

“He’s actually the Devil?” Carl asks quietly.

Chloe laughs a little. “Yes, but he gets a bad rap.”

Carl groans and covers his face with his hands. “Why couldn’t you be a Russian spy or something?”

“Because I don’t speak Russian.”

“Ha ha,” Carl says sarcastically. He shakes his head. “Honestly, Chloe, I don’t know what to do.”

She shrugs. “Me neither. I haven’t known for six weeks.” She leans forward a bit, noticing the hardened look in Carl’s eyes has disappeared. “I’m happy to sit here and answer all your questions, on or off the record. I’m happy to help you craft a narrative that works for the both of us. I’m happy to play my part. But I can’t make the truth any easier to swallow, Commissioner Bradley.

“And I’m sorry to say it, because I can tell it’s affected you, but I’m glad you know the story of your Aunt Rose, if for no other reason that you understand where I’m coming from. I haven’t been giving the precinct the runaround because I’m trying to be coy. I can’t tell anyone my story, which now you understand.”

“Why did you tell me today?”

Chloe looks away, shaking her head, “Because I couldn’t stand feeling like I was doing something wrong any longer.”

He looks at her, long and hard. He’s trying to figure something out, so she gives him the time to do so. Even with his background with his aunt, the truth is hard to contextualize. Chloe still struggles with where to keep it in her brain. But with Zachriel being monumentally unhelpful, she’ll just need to learn to live with it.

After a moment Carl says, “You’re excused.”

“Really?”

“Just…don’t leave LA, okay? I might need you again.”

Chloe pushes back her chair. “Okay.” She grabs her purse. It’s only been an hour and most of that time was her just standing around waiting. She walks around the long table, noticing the eyes of the office looking away from her again. Carl doesn’t move. She hovers with her hand over the door handle. “Dan mentioned…” she sighs. The Commissioner looks over at her. “Detective Espinoza said you might try to work an angle that would include taking my daughter away. Is that true?”

He shakes his head. “No. Not from me, at least. I know a few members of my team were trying to intimidate some of your colleagues, thinking they would break. They leaned in hard on Dan, but I found out and reprimanded them. Your daughter isn’t part of this, Detective.”

She nods, even though she can’t feel complete relief. “Thank you, sir.”

Not another word is spoken between them.

Downstairs, Lucifer is still sitting in his Corvette. It’s as if he knows she’s coming (maybe it’s the tether) and he turns to look at her. He climbs from his car and walks around to greet her. “Wh—” he begins, but she cuts him off with a kiss.

Lucifer wraps her in his arms, kissing her back greedily. She doesn’t feel relief after her meeting, or stress. She doesn’t feel much, actually, except Lucifer’s body pressed to hers. She sighs against his lips. His hands run down along her back and she wants him. Man does she want him. But right now, she needs to do something.

She pulls away and looks up into his dark, lustful eyes. “What happened?” he asks, his tongue peeking out to lick his bottom lip.

She doesn’t allow herself to be distracted. “I’ll tell you, but can you do something for me first?”

“Anything.”

“Will you take me to my grave?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, commenting if you have the time or inclination, and just being so supportive! I've had a really tough week and you all make it better.


	25. Manfriend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kindness you continue to share. I appreciate hearing from you and I'm truly happy you're enjoying what I've been writing! We're gearing up for the end and I'm nervous and excited. Thank you for sticking with me!

Lucifer pulls up to the very same spot the night they resurrected Chloe and puts his Corvette in park. For a moment, the two of them just sit staring toward what was Chloe’s grave. The blank headstone still marks the spot, but the card with her name is missing. The grave is still dug up and if Lucifer had to guess, her coffin is long gone. 

In the drive over, Chloe didn’t say anything, but Lucifer could guess exhuming her grave was part of the conversation with the Commissioner. She had been worrying about that ever since Dan mentioned it. 

He looks over at her and her eyes are laser-focused on the empty grave. She meets his eyes.

“I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”

Lucifer reaches his hand over to take hers. He doesn’t have anything encouraging to say, so he just reminds her, “I’m here for you.”

They sit in silence for a few moments. She looks at the empty grave again and Lucifer tries to consider what seeing this spot might feel like. She’s never known the grave, already having been dead when she was placed inside and still dead when he removed her. But it’s the implications of such a place. He’ll never known the inside of a grave and it all feels terribly human, the finality of it all.

Lucifer has never really considered death. He’s known humans who have died, but none of them were close. He certainly never loved one. One day Chloe will be gone and that feels like a punch in his gut. He looks back over to her grave glumly.

Chloe sighs after another beat. “I’m ready,” she says, sounding confident.

Lucifer waits for her around the front of the car. He leads her over to her grave and wraps an arm around her shoulders, holding her body along his. Side to side. Partners in crime. Sometimes literally. She wraps her arm around his waist and squeezes him once tightly. He squeezes her back, like a call and response.

Inside, the grave is totally empty, but there are signs of a recent rain—the ground at the very bottom wet and muddy. It wasn’t like that that night. He doesn’t tell Chloe about that night, not until she asks. But right now, she doesn’t seem to be interested in anything but staring down into what might’ve been her everlasting resting spot. To Lucifer, it seems more like a prison.

He glances at her, trying to read her, but her expression is…unusual. She seems relieved, but also unhappy. Sad and uncertain. 

“You wouldn’t let me wake up here,” she says, remembering back to what they told her that night. He and Amenadiel breaking down why she was back.

Lucifer nods. “I thought it’d be too cruel.”

She nods. She licks her lips. Lucifer wishes he could find the proper way to comfort her, but he doesn’t want to make anything worse. “Do you think Michael keeps like…a log of all the people he’s brought back?”

“Surprisingly, the Silver City is big on paperwork. I’d expect there’s a file somewhere with your name on it. Why?”

“Not for me,” she says. “The Commissioner’s aunt.” Nothing she’s saying makes sense, so he keeps quiet until she continues. “The Police Commissioner’s Aunt Rose was resurrected. When I told him my story, he looked like he’d seen a ghost, but he hadn’t. He was remembering what she used to tell him. One minute she was this 60s bra burner and the next she was Team God.”

“Team God?” Lucifer teases with a laugh.

Chloe smiles a little and looks up at him.

“So, you told the truth,” he confirms.

“I did.”

“You’re not locked up.”

“I’m not scot-free,” she tells him. “If the Commissioner can’t come up with plausible reasons—realistic reasons—for my ‘death,’ then the questions and distrust can follow me through the rest of my career.”

“And your offspring?” he asks, remembering that she was concerned about losing Trixie.

She sighs. “Trixie is safe. She’s not a focus, apparently.” Chloe glances at her grave again and then to Lucifer. “You want to know what’s crazy?”

“What?”

“I feel better than I have in weeks. Finally admitting it, telling the Commissioner, I feel like a weight has been lifted off me. I only wish I did it sooner.”

“You did it, that’s all that matters.” She nods. Lucifer tucks her hair behind her ears and she looks up at him again. “Tell me what you’re thinking. Seeing your gravestone. Your grave.”

Chloe shakes her head. “Nothing,” she tells him and he knows she does it with the utmost honesty. “I thought I’d feel sad or angry, but I don’t.”

“Why would you be angry?”

“Because I don’t think I want to be buried.” His eyebrow quirks. “When you become an officer, they tell you to write a will. Give a directive in case you die on the job. I filled all that out when I was twenty. I didn’t know what I wanted then, but I do now. I don’t want to be in some box. When I die again, I don’t want to come back.”

Lucifer feels an ache inside, something deeply sad about never seeing her again. Her life ending with such finality. She comforts him, her arms wrapping around his waist as she turns to face him fully now. Her hands slide under his suit jacket, pressing against the small of his back through his shirt. “I know you don’t get that. I am glad you brough me back now, but when I’m old, when I’ve lived, I’ll be ready to go.”

“What if you get shot in the line of duty a year from now? Three years from now?”

“It’s very human of you to be worrying about my mortality.”

“I’m not joking, Detective.”

She sighs. “If I die, I die. I don’t want to come back.”

“But—”

“I’m not asking for your approval,” she tells him softly, seemingly as kindly as she can. But it feels like she’s tearing his heart out. “Look, the truth is, my job is dangerous, but I’m very good at it. I’m not worried and you shouldn’t be either. I’m not going anywhere, Lucifer. I promise.”

He feels a little better. But adds, “We’re not very good at promises. I’m oh-for-two.”

“No you’re not. The first one you kept, in a roundabout way, and the second…I found another solution. Maybe. I could still lose my job.”

He chuckles. “You’re joking at a time like this.”

“It’s what you would do.”

“True.” He glances at the grave. “I’d very much like to kiss you, but it seems wrong to do it here. I’m happy to give you as much time as you need—”

“I’m done. I’m ready to go back to your place.”

Lucifer releases her waist and takes her hand instead. “I had a thought,” he tells her as they walk to his Corvette. He walks to her side first, opening the car door. Chloe steps around the door, but doesn’t sit yet. “Would you like an evening with your tiny human?” Her face lights up as he had hoped. “I’m happy to leave you two alone, if you’d prefer it. Or I could join you. I could host the both of you at my penthouse. I am truly open to whatever your preference.”

Chloe leans closer, her lips close to his. “You’re wonderful, did you know that?”

“Oh, well…” he says dismissively.

“I’d love to spend time with Trixie and you. I think she might enjoy time in your penthouse, if you weren’t too opposed. She’d go crazy for your hot tub.”

“It’s settled then.” Lucifer leans in to kiss her chastely, but Chloe deepens it. “Detective,” he says as their lips part, acting shocked. “We’re in a _graveyard_ , Detective. Show some decorum.”

She laughs, now sinking into her seat. Lucifer leans over to kiss her once more because he just has to.

* * *

Dan’s eyes go wide as he looks around Lucifer’s penthouse. He seems uncomfortable, his hands in his pockets. Trixie, as predicted, loves the penthouse. She’s run from room-to-room and out onto the terrace. Chloe watches as Lucifer follows her. “Don’t fall into the hot tub. I don’t wish to fish your body out. Your parents will not be pleased with you being dead.” She smiles a little to herself over Lucifer’s concern for Trixie.

She turns back to Dan, who’s been so patient. “How did it go?” he asks.

Chloe nods. “Fine, really. I told the truth.”

“About the…resurrection?” he asks, lowering his voice.

“Yes.” Chloe sighs, relieved that Lucifer has held Trixie’s attention. “I couldn’t lie any longer. I know you said you didn’t want to know more, but I’m happy to tell you the whole story.”

Dan shifts on his heels. “I’m more concerned about the Commissioner right now. How did he take it?”

Without telling Dan the Commissioner’s story, she says, “He believed me.”

“How?”

“I told you, it’s a long story and I _will_ tell you, if you want me to. Just…not tonight, okay? I just want time with Trix.” She pauses and looks over. She seems Lucifer smiling at her daughter and her heart just about bursts. “Are you sure you don’t mind us staying here tonight? Lucifer will sleep on the couch and give Trixie and I the bed. But if you were uncomfortable—”

“As long as Trixie is comfortable, I’m comfortable. She really seems to like him.”

Chloe nods. “He likes her, too. He just won’t admit it.” 

Lucifer and Trixie come back into the room, Trixie running at Chloe. Chloe drops down to her daughter’s level, catching her as she slides across the floor in her socks. “Lucifer said we can go swimming in his hot tub. Can we, Mommy? And then can we have sushi?”

“Sushi?” she asks.

“She’s gotten into recently,” Dan says.

“Quite the little Angeleno you’re raising,” Lucifer quips. “She mentioned the two of you have been doing yoga, Daniel.” Lucifer narrows his eyes. “Or shall I call you _Douche_ again?”

Chloe stands. She gives Lucifer a look before responding to Trixie. “We can absolutely have sushi if we can have ice cream, too.”

“Chocolate ice cream?” Trixie asks, bouncing on her toes.

“Whatever kind you’d like.”

Dan is still looking at Chloe like she’s a mirage. She reaches out and squeezes his forearm. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay? Nothing’s going to be decided for a couple of days, I think, so, we can talk and make a plan.”

“A plan for if the Commissioner doesn’t actually believe you.”

“Sure,” she agrees.

Dan says goodbye to Trixie with a hug and just nods to Chloe and Lucifer. Once the elevator doors close, the fun begins.

* * *

Lucifer slides into his hot tub, wearing swim trunks which isn’t his preferred outfit for such an activity, but with the child present, it’s necessary. The water feels a little cool to him, which means it’ll be perfect for the humans. He’s positioned himself with the railing and city behind him so he can watch Chloe. The next few hours are going to be a true test, with the child around, but Lucifer has proven he can keep his hands to himself. However, Chloe in a bathing suit will certainly test him.

A minute later, Chloe comes into view wearing a floral-printed bikini, mostly made of blues and purples, which seems very feminine. Her eyes meet his and she smiles at him. His eyes wash over her, starting at her collarbones and moving down, across her breasts, down her flat stomach, to the warmth between her legs. He sighs, hiding a groan, and tips his head up to keep from looking for too long. _She’ll be the death of me_ , he thinks.

It isn’t long before it becomes the Trixie show. She plops herself into the water confidently and begins zipping across the confined space. Chloe sits opposite Lucifer, her eyes only glancing his way briefly, otherwise she’s making sure her daughter is safe.

“Lucifer?” she asks as she swims past him.

“Yes baby shark?” he replies.

Trixie giggles. “Do you fly?”

He glances at Chloe. She simply shakes her head subtly. Lucifer replies, “First class only.”

“No,” Trixie sounds exasperated. “Like fly with your wings?”

“Why do you think Lucifer has wings, Monkey?”

“Because I saw them.”

Lucifer and Chloe share another look and their silent conversation feels heavy. He tries to remember when Trixie might’ve seen his wings, but nothing jogs his memory. “When did you see my wings?” he asks, not even trying to dissuade her. A lie by omission is a lie and if Trixie claims she’s seen Lucifer’s wings, then he must believe her and grant her the truth.

Trixie swims across the tub to one wall, propping herself up against the tiled surface. “When you came to visit Mommy the other morning. You were in the backyard. You had coffee for her.”

He laughs softly and looks back to Chloe. She doesn’t seem angry. She just shrugs.

“Yes, I fly.”

Trixie’s eyes go wide. “Can you fly me?” Before Chloe can say anything, Lucifer quickly says no. “Why not?”

“I’m not supposed to,” he tells her truthfully.

“Can I see you fly?”

“Perhaps one day. For your birthday or some other such nonsense.”

“My birthday is soon.”

“Your sixteenth birthday, then.”

Trixie frowns. Chloe laughs, pulling Lucifer’s attention.

“Sixteen is so far away!” she complains dramatically.

“Delayed gratification,” he tells Trixie simply. He further explains, for her fully undeveloped brain, “If you wait for something, it’s much better when it actually happens. Eight years from now, you’ll be very happy you waited.”

Trixie floats across the tub to Chloe. Lucifer watches as Chloe wraps her arms around Trixie, almost catching her in slow motion. Trixie folds into her mother, taking comfort in her and Lucifer watches Chloe relax. She keeps saying she can’t feel a connect to Trixie, but Lucifer is watching it right now. He’s watching her love her daughter. Typically, he wouldn’t care about a moment like this, but once Chloe sees that love for herself, he knows she’ll feel more like herself, which is all she truly wants.

“Don’t grow up too fast,” she tells Trixie.

“I won’t,” she promises in her little voice. “Older kids are always crying about boys and stupid stuff. I don’t want all my friends to just be crying all the time.”

Lucifer chuckles, “Crying over boys. Well, we can’t have that.”

“Definitely not,” Chloe agrees.

Once again, they share a look and he watches her face soften. She looks so peaceful.

* * *

In the evening, after Trixie’s asleep on Chloe’s side of Lucifer’s bed, Lucifer kisses Chloe goodnight on the steps leading to his bedroom. She stands one above him, almost on his level. He holds her by the waist, gripping her shirt—well, his shirt that she’s stolen—between his hands and holds her hostage.

“Lucifer,” she whispers against his lips.

He loves to hear it.

They enjoyed some quiet time on the couch after Trixie fell asleep, but it’s well-past midnight and Trixie has been waking up early lately.

Chloe runs her hands over his shoulders and down over his shoulder blades. “We can’t start this.”

He groans against her lips. “I can take you somewhere. My terrace. My elevator. Lux. Wherever you wish to go, I’ll take you.”

“Who could’ve guessed I’d be dating a guy with an elevator?”

“The Devil, darling. Not a _guy_.” He leans down and kisses softly along her neck, nipping on her skin leading up to her earlobe. “In other news, is dating what we’re doing?”

She pulls back to look at him. He looks so handsome in the low-light—although he looks handsome in any light. She strokes his cheeks, feeling his five o’clock stubble beneath her fingertips. He’s illuminated from the inside out, a warm comfort to her. She loves him. “Do you want to have this conversation now?” Chloe thought they might never have a conversation about their relationship. She never wanted to push.

When Lucifer says nothing, she adds, “I’m happy to discuss it.”

“I thought that’s what you’d want. A label. A path to a future together.”

“I’m taking it one day at a time.”

“That doesn’t seem like you.”

“It’s usually not,” she admits. “I know I want to be with you, but I’m happy to call you my boyfriend, if you’d truly like a label.”

Lucifer scoffs, “ _Boy_ friend.”

She laughs, keeping her chuckle low as not to wake Trixie. “Would manfriend be better?”

“Boyfriend and girlfriend are terrible terms. You’re not merely my friend and I’m certainly not a boy.” He’s contemplative for a moment. “Lover doesn’t work, because you’re more than that. Partner could work, but you have partners in your line of work, so it seems to lessen it.”

Chloe sighs. “Lucifer, I love you.”

His gaze brightens. He smiles softly. “I love you, too.” He leans in to kiss her and she sighs against his lips. After a minute, “Perhaps we don’t need a label.”

“Not right now,” she agrees.

His hands run down across her butt. “I should let you sleep now, otherwise I’ll never let you go.”

“I’m sorry I’ve kicked you out onto the couch.”

“To be fair, your offspring did that.” She laughs and sneaks her hands beneath the back of his shirt, feeling is warm skin. He leans in one last time. “I’ll be fine, Detective. It’s a comfortable couch.” He gives her one last kiss. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She agrees and releases him before she asks him to take her onto the terrace, or into his elevator, or down into Lux.

* * *

Hours later, Chloe wakes up with a start. A nightmare—something she hasn’t experienced in a long time. She sees her empty grave, a body inside that she can’t quite see, but she knows it’s her own body. She can’t get back into it. She knows Lucifer is somewhere, but she can’t see him. Can’t touch him. She can hear how frantic his voice is and she tries so hard to find him, but she also knows she needs to ID the body. The push and pull nearly breaks her.

She sits up. Trixie is fast asleep, curled onto her side. The penthouse is quiet, so Chloe expects Lucifer is asleep, too, and while she doesn’t want to wake him, she wants to be close to him.

Chloe climbs from the bed and walks into the dimly lit living room. She sees Lucifer lying on his back, his one arm above his head, his face turned away from her as he sleeps deeply. He’s shirtless; he looks perfect. She really does feel badly, but she doesn’t stop herself from climbing onto the couch and pressing her chest to his, wrapping her arms around him.

“Hmm?” he mumbles as she wakes him.

Chloe presses her cheek against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“Detective? Is everything okay?”

She closes her eyes. “Yes.”

His arms fold around her slowly until he’s holding her tightly to his chest. He leans down and kisses the top of her head. He doesn’t ask her any questions, not that she’d be open to answering any right now. Instead, their breathing finds a rhythm and they fall asleep just like that.


	26. Like a genie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I've said this time and time again, but I just feel so welcomed by this fandom. It's hard writing for one fandom for so long and then moving to another, but I've been so welcomed by you all. Thank you! You make me so happy.

Lucifer stretches out like a cat, his limbs heading in different directions, before he hollows out his back. She watches him, her fork hovering in the air. He groans, his eyes screwed shut. Her eyes draw a line down his body, truly taking in his beauty.

Sometimes she forgets she’s in love with the Devil. He’s not who writers and directors portray in books, TV, and movies. It’s not just about them portraying him as evil; it’s that they portray him as unjust. Unkind. Hurting people to hurt them. Punishing humans like a game. But that’s not at all the person she sees across from her. He looks at her and he grins softly, slowly—a grin seemingly reserved for her only. He _is_ kind and just and thoughtful and intelligent and…he’s hers.

He doesn’t remark on her blatant staring. He just stares right back for a moment before standing up enough to lean across the table. He presses his hands to either side of his bowl and his lips hover over hers. Chloe sits up, holding his face in her hands. He kisses her and he takes her breath away.

* * *

Later, half-dressed and mussed up from sex, Lucifer sits at his piano and Chloe lies on the settee, her legs bent at the knee. “Any requests?” Lucifer asks, already playing something slow and melodic.

She thinks for a long time. She can’t see him from this vantage point, but she can feel the tether inside her stomach, almost rolling over slowly just being in his presence. “You’ve met a lot of people,” she says almost dreamily. “Play me a song you saw being composed. Have you seen anyone compose anything?”

“I have.” Lucifer begins to play something unfamiliar.

Chloe sighs, staring up at the ceiling, the very same she stared at when she first awoke. It drums up an emotion in her chest—something indescribable.

The music Lucifer plays is whimsical, but dramatic. She can’t really describe that, either. “Who composed this?”

“Jan Dismas Zelenka. He was a Baroque Czech composter. I met him in 1739. I’d heard murmurs of some great composer in Eastern Europe, but Zelenka wasn’t what I expected. He was _fun_. And funny. He told me he’d written something and he played it. I don’t believe he ever tried to publish this work. I don’t even believe he named it.”

“Why do you like it so much?”

“He was so joyous as he played it. I saw how much music filled him. He was the first person I ever met that I believed loved music as much as me.”

Chloe sits up, her hair tumbling along her shoulders and down her back. She wears one of Lucifer’s robes, since she knows how much he likes it. He glances at her. He’s shirtless, joyous, just like Jan Dismas Zelenka. Chloe slides from the couch and stands up. Lucifer’s eyes stray from her face, sliding down along her legs. She walks over and sits beside him. 

Lucifer glances at her with a small grin, but he doesn’t stop playing. 

Chloe always hears the wings first—the woosh and fluttering. It’s like a fan being turned on, but that seems too human of a descriptor. Lucifer hears it too and they both glance towards the terrace, where Amenadiel walks in. Chloe is all-too aware of what little clothes she’s wearing. “I’m going to go change,” she tells Lucifer quietly.

He eyes her. “You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do.” She gives Amenadiel a tight smile. “Hi, Amenadiel. I’ll be right back.” She stands and tries to make sure all of her is covered before scurrying from the room. She hears Lucifer stand from the bench, completely comfortable in his boxers and nothing else.

“A drink, brother?” Chloe hears Lucifer offer.

Chloe leans over her bag on the chair in Lucifer’s room. She doesn’t often need typical pajamas or lounge clothes, but she always packs them. She looks over her shoulder, to be sure the brothers are busy, and she strips off Lucifer’s robe and pulls on a pair of leggings and a long-sleeve shirt. She pulls her hair back.

When she rejoins them, Amenadiel is now sharing a drink with Lucifer. 

“Would you like one?” Lucifer asks her.

She shakes her head. She looks at Amenadiel. “Everything okay?” she asks.

“I’m sorry for just dropping in, but I was worried.”

“Worried?” Lucifer asks, now interested.

Amenadiel sets down his glass. His expression darkens. “I’m worried about Michael’s intentions,” he says, cutting to the chase. He goes back and explains, “It surprised us all when he suddenly received orders to resurrect you a week after your death,” Amenadiel says, focusing on Chloe. “In all these eons, it’s never happened, so why now? Why you? Why did Lucifer have to be involved? It’s unprecedented.”

Chloe nods. “Okay, but that doesn’t mean anything insidious happened, does it?”

Lucifer narrows his eyes and Chloe notices how still he’s become. “What did he do?”

“I don’t have confirmation, but I believe he might’ve tampered with the signal to resurrect you. Or ignored it. I’ve been speaking to some of our siblings,” he says to Lucifer now. “Michael has been positioning himself next to Father, taking over some of his duties. Monitoring the signals from Earth, allegedly, is one of them.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s believed that Michael allowed you to be dead for a week before resurrecting you.”

She shakes her head. “But…why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it because Chloe’s connected to me already? Because of the gift.”

Amenadiel shrugs. “I don’t know. I wish I had more. I wanted to have more before I told you, but I didn’t want to risk Michael coming down here and manipulating you two. I could be wrong, but after everything I’ve heard recently, he is up to something.”

“You’ve said that,” Chloe says, pointing to Lucifer. “Even back when he came down to tell me more about the process of resurrection. You said he was up to something.”

“I did say that. I was mostly speaking in hyperbole. He’s an ass, but I never thought he’d mess with life and death like that.” Lucifer shakes his head, turning his attention to Amenadiel. “Why bring Chloe into this? Why risk it? He involved you and me. He brought in celestials. He had to know we could eventually piece it together.”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t want to confront him without more information.”

Chloe sinks onto one of the barstools. Lucifer notices and moves next to her, taking her hand, offering her comfort. For a moment, she can’t even focus on him comforting her. Michael potentially chose not to resurrect her on time and for what? To hurt her? To hurt Lucifer? To test his power? None of those scenarios is reasonable. This is her life. She still could lose everything.

She wonders about feeling distant, disconnected. She looks at Amenadiel. “Could he have changed how I feel about my daughter? I mean…it doesn’t make sense that I just woke up and can no longer connect with my own child.”

Amenadiel seems a little lost. “Possibly. Honestly, Chloe, I wish I knew more. He could’ve, but I can’t say either way.”

She feels hopeless. “So, what do we do?”

“I’m going back to The Silver City. I’m going to monitor Michael. I’m going to check in with some of his closest allies and if possible, I’m going to request an audience with Father.”

“You are?”

Chloe looks between them. “Is that a big deal?”

“Father doesn’t give his children time. I last saw him when he expelled me.”

“I haven’t seen him in millennia,” Amenadiel confirms. “But if Michael has his ear, he must be seeing him. There’s a way. So, I’m going to figure out how to get an audience with him. I need to see how much he’s been sharing with Michael and vice versa.”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

Amenadiel sighs. “We’ll need to confront him.”

Chloe notices Lucifer’s hand now, completely pressed to hers. He’s present. He’s worried. She squeezes his palm and he looks down at her. “What do you think?” she asks him.

She can see him thinking, planning, maybe even plotting. He hates his brother and he loves her, so she knows he’ll do anything to make this better. But she’s not sure Amenadiel’s plan will work and she’s not sure what Michael did or didn’t do bringing her back. It seems like Lucifer can’t do anything right now. She thinks he realizes that, too.

“It’s as good a plan as any,” Lucifer decides. “But,” he says, turning to Amenadiel. “You need to be checking in regularly. I need to make sure Michael hasn’t punted you off a cloud or something.”

“Do you actually sit on clouds?”

He laughs a little. “No, darling.”

She knows, but she wanted to make him laugh.

“I can check in,” Amenadiel confirms, bringing the conversation back around.

“I wish I could go The Silver City with you, but…”

“I promise to be thorough,” Amenadiel says, trying to comfort Lucifer. “And discreet.”

Lucifer nods. “I know.”

“I’ll head back up there now, but I’ll try to focus on time on Earth. Check in tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Chloe says. She stands, dropping Lucifer’s hand to hug Amenadiel, who seems a little surprised. After a moment, he holds her in return.

* * *

Hours later, they’re still awake. They’ve discussed their options to death. Michael’s motivations to death. Amenadiel’s plan to death and they’re both exhausted. Chloe sighs and lies back into Lucifer’s bed and folds her hands over her stomach.

“Do you want to go to sleep?”

“I should want to, but I don’t think I can.”

Lucifer rolls to his side, propping himself up. “Do you want a bath?” Her eyes go wide and she turns her head to smile at him. “You did promise me a bath, the first time we slept together. I’ve taken one alone, but it’s not the same.”

He runs his hand along her stomach, leaning closer, his lips hovering over hers. “I think that was after the third time we slept together.”

“Potato, po-tot-toe.”

He kisses her. “I’m going to run us a bath and we’re not going to talk about Michael or anything having to do with him. Okay?” He holds out his hands to help her up and he practically drags her into a seated position. “We’re going to relax and then hopefully you’ll feel like sleeping.”

She nods. “Okay.”

Lucifer kisses her. “You stay here. I’ll get everything prepared.”

“I can get us drinks.”

“Brilliant idea, Detective.”

Chloe walks down the steps to the bar, pulling two glasses and the bottle he’s been drinking from the last couple of days. When she walks into the bathroom, she’s enveloped in the scent of jasmine or hibiscus or…honestly, who can name one floral scent from another? It smells good. The lights are turned low, Lucifer having planned ahead for maximum romance in installing a dimmer switch in the bathroom. The bathtub is the stand-alone kind, jutting out into the middle of the bathroom, with candles flickering around the base. 

Lucifer stands next to the tub, just watching the water fill. It amuses her for some reason. Chloe sets down one of the glasses on the vanity and steps behind Lucifer. She wraps her arms around him and offers him the other glass. She hears his approval as she presses her ear to his back, a warm rumble blooming through him. She presses her palms to his bare stomach, feeling him chuckle a little.

Her mouth turns up into a smile. “What?” she asks him.

Lucifer’s one hand presses to hers. He draws along her fingers slowly. “I just…I realized I’ve never allowed anyone to care for me before. Take care of me,” he explains further. “Sure, I’ve had women bring me drinks, but not because they care about me. Usually I’ve hired them or they’re hoping I’ll grant them a wish.”

“Like a genie,” Chloe whispers.

She feels Lucifer chuckle again. “I’m _trying_ to be serious here.”

Chloe shifts, moving around him like she’s climbing a tree. She faces him now. The way he looks at her…she sighs. “I know and I’m sorry.” By the amusement in his eyes, she knows she doesn’t need to apologize to him, but she does it out of respect for his new-found feelings. “Do you like that I take care of you?”

“Very much.”

“If there’s ever anything I do that you don’t like—”

“I doubt I’ll ever have a complaint, Detective.”

She nods. “But if you do…”

“You’ll be the first to know.”

He sets down his drink and he leans forward to press a kiss to the top of her head before leaning even further to turn off the tap. He touches the water, checking to make sure he won’t boil her like a lobster. Lucifer reaches between them and runs his fingers along the hem of her shirt. He lifts it up slowly, his fingers skimming her skin, her thumbs caressing the sides of her breasts. He drops the shirt to the floor.

Chloe reaches for his boxers, pushing them from his hips and as always, a warmth settles in her stomach at the sight of him. Even flaccid, he makes her squirm with desire. Lucifer works on removing her leggings next. He takes the material at her waist and begins peeling them slowly down her legs. He follows their descent, kneeling as he goes. Chloe holds onto his shoulders as she steps out of the leggings with one foot and then the other. Lucifer’s hand curls around the back of her left calf and when he looks up at her, she shivers. His fingers dance along her skin and once again, she wants him. It’s like an endless loop—wanting him, needing him. Every time she thinks she’s been fulfilled, she wants him all over again.

She reaches down and runs her fingers through his hair. His hair is wilder than he normally allows, his curls defying the usual product he styles with. She likes him either way, but there’s something carnal about seeing him ungroomed. 

Lucifer presses kisses to her knees, moving along her thighs to her inner thighs. She wants to push her legs together from the desire of it all, but she wants to feel his mouth on her. When she closes her eyes, feeling his breath between her legs, she expects what’ll come next, but it never happens. She feels Lucifer moving and when she opens her eyes, he’s standing now, grinning down at her.

“The water’s getting cold.”

She wants to hit him. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly,” he says, trying to suppress his grin. “It would be a waste of water to have to run it all again. Plus, I used a lot of essential oils and they’d go to waste, too. Of course, if—”

Chloe presses her hand to his mouth. His eyes are lit with happiness. “I will remember this.”

When she removes her hand, he says, “Oh I certainly hope so.”

Lucifer offers her his hand and helps her into the tub. She sinks down into the warmth and moans softly. Her head is full of whatever floral scent surrounds her and it almost makes her feel light-headed. Or it could be the remnants of Lucifer’s mouth dangerously close to her. She watches him climb in, holding up his body weight as he sinks into the tub. His biceps bulge from the tension and she wants to lean forward and nip at them.

She feels his legs on either side of her hips, extended fully. She slides her feet forward and lifts them to press her feet against his thighs. Lucifer’s hands disappear beneath the water and she feels each of them wrap around her ankles.

For a long time, they sit across from each other in the tub saying nothing. Lucifer watches her and when he’s not watching her, his eyes are closed, his head tipped back. Chloe reaches down and runs her hands along his shins, feeling his hair submitting to the rhythm of the water. She thinks. She tries to not think of Michael and his scheming, but it’s hard to focus on anything else. She’s come down to a single conclusion: Michael wanted to hurt Lucifer. 

Chloe’s not sure why she’s come to this one conclusion, but it’s the only that makes sense. Michael didn’t know her, so punishing her makes no sense. He could’ve been trying to stretch his power, surely, but that also doesn’t make a ton of sense. He’s an archangel, already more powerful than anything or anyone who’s ever existed. Unless…he wanted to impress his father with his strength.

“I can see you thinking,” Lucifer tells her.

Instantly, the thoughts are gone. “No you can’t.”

“I think I know you well-enough by now, Detective, and I can see how hard you’re thinking. I assure you, you don’t need to worry. I’ll protect you,” he says cockily.

“Oh will you now?” She raises her eyebrows. “What makes you think I need protecting?”

He thinks for a moment before saying, “You don’t actually. In fact, I might request you to protect me. Now that I’m vulnerable.”

Chloe slides across the tub, shifting her feet to rest beside his hips. Lucifer helps her up to rest onto his thighs. She takes his shoulders in her hands and slides her hands down along his shoulder blades. She wonders about the science of his wings, the anatomy, but it’s basically magic. No explanation needed.

Lucifer’s hands trail up and down her spine. He leans in to kiss the top of one of her breasts.

“Why haven’t you ever allowed anyone to care for you before?”

He leans his head back to look at her. “I’d imagine it’s my ability to extract desires.”

“Why do you say that?”

Lucifer’s hands keep exploring her just as her hands explore him. “No one can be truly themselves around me. My affect…I’m not sure how to explain it, but you’ve seen how I operate. I draw out desires, but I also make people almost submit to me. They _want_ to give me the information I need because they know in exchange, I might grant them that desire, or a wish, or whatever silly notion they have in their mind.

“But with you,” his eyes settle on hers. “We don’t operate that way. You just…see me.”

“I _do_ see you.”

His eyes light with recognition, as if he’s been thinking of something for a long time. “Linda and Amenadiel hypothesized that you being a gift for me isn’t simply your existence is meant for me. They both thought it was something more. You are the only human I’ve ever met who is unaffected. Who sees me for me. I’ve been thinking _that’s_ the gift. Your ability to know me and still love me.”

Chloe feels an ache in her chest, thinking of all the years Lucifer has walked the Earth without a true human connection. How her walking into Lux, notepad in hand to take his statement, was the moment their connection started. He couldn’t charm her; he couldn’t extract her desires. The connection they started on that case was real. It’s all real.

She wraps her arms around him and holds him against her chest. Chloe kisses the side of his head, wanting to be as near to him as possible. She’s forced herself to forget about being a gift to Lucifer for a few weeks now, wishing to hold onto whatever is happening between them for a long as possible. But this feels like a confirmation. The connection they have is built on love and trust, respect, not on some celestial bullshit that made her for him. Her ability to see him is celestial, but it feels like a blessing, not a curse.


	27. I wasn’t…puffing.

Chloe is cleaning up from dinner when her phone rings. _L.A.P.D._ reads across the screen. She dries her hands, glancing at the clock—it’s past eight, which is late for any good news—and answers the phone. “Chloe Decker.”

“Detective Decker, this is Commissioner Bradley. If you’re free tomorrow morning, I’d like to meet with you.”

“Yes, I’m free.” She wants to ask what she can expect, but she doesn’t.

Trixie walks into the room holding up a still-wet painting. The Commissioner continues. “Let’s say nine?”

“Nine is perfect. I’ll see you then, sir.”

The call is so abrupt, Chloe almost feels like it never happened.

Lucifer walks into the room, his hands covered in paint. He grumbles as he passes Trixie. “I didn’t say to paint _me_. You have plenty of paper. This is a three-thousand-dollar suit,” he says everything low, but Chloe hears him. He turns on the tap in the kitchen sink with his elbow. “I’m tagging out on arts and crafts time next time,” he tells Chloe, still feigning annoyance. “Or maybe I could wear one of Daniel’s horrible shirts. Keep mine from getting ruined.”

Chloe is in a bit of a daze when Trixie presents her painting. “It’s Hell!” she says excitedly and Chloe notices the flames and the over-use of the color black. 

“It’s hardly a good depiction,” Lucifer continues to grumble. “It’s much more cool-toned than that. Like an azure. Ashes are falling from the threat of flames, but the flames aren’t so overt.”

He steps beside Chloe, drying his hands on a towel. He looks at her. “Detective?”

“The Police Commissioner just called me.”

Lucifer stops. “What did he say?”

“He wants to meet tomorrow.”

“Anything else?”

“No. I didn’t ask.”

Lucifer sets the kitchen towel on the counter. “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he says, running his hand up and down her back. “Are you nervous?”

“A little.”

Even with Trixie there, Lucifer leans down to offer Chloe a brief kiss. It does make her feel better. He doesn’t say any other words of encouragement and Chloe thinks it’s because he knows her well enough to realize encouragement is not what she needs. Whatever will be will be and there’s nothing to be done at this point. Chloe grins at him and then turns to Trixie. “Show me your picture, Monkey and let’s hear Lucifer tell you why it’s wrong again.”

Trixie holds up her picture. 

“I wasn’t saying it’s wrong, just inaccurate.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?” Trixie asks.

“She is right, you know.”

Lucifer waves his hand in the air, “Fine, I’ll stop critiquing the child’s ‘art work,’” he says, using actual finger quotes. Chloe nudges him with her elbow. “Fine, I’ll behave.”

“No you won’t,” Trixie says brightly, causing Chloe to laugh.

* * *

The next morning, Dan stops by early to pick up Trixie. Lucifer and Chloe are no longer reigning their relationship in, which is evident as Lucifer walks downstairs, adjusting his cufflinks as he goes. “Ah, Daniel.”

Dan eyes the stairs. A moment later, Chloe walks down, joining the men. She looks between them as they eye each other and she rolls her eyes. “Are you really going to do the puffed-out chest thing? Isn’t it a little early?”

“I wasn’t…puffing,” Dan says lamely.

“Sure you weren’t.”

Chloe walks into the kitchen and grabs Trixie’s lunch from the second shelf of the refrigerator. She spent at least 20 minutes last night cutting out star shapes into Trixie’s carrots and then trimming down her egg salad sandwich into the face of a pig. Lucifer watched in amusement the whole time, complaining about “humans and all your wasted hours on nonsense.”

She’s held up the sharp knife as if to threaten, but was smiling. “You never spend hours on nonsense?” she asked him sarcastically.

“Historically, maybe. But, no more.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Dan notices the picture on the counter, the one Trixie painted last night. “Jesus. This is a little dark.” He holds it up for Chloe to see. “Is she okay?”

Chloe mostly ignored Dan’s concern. “She’s fine.”

“This looks like Hell.”

Lucifer sighs dramatically. Chloe gives him a look. He keeps his mouth shut and simply leans against the counter next to her, his back to Dan. 

“It’s just a painting, Dan.”

Trixie drags her backpack into her room, staring down at a little screen contained in a purple egg-looking thing. “What do you have, Trix?”

Chloe brushes her fingers along Lucifer’s cheek as Dan is distracted. They might not be hiding their relationship, but Chloe isn’t looking to flaunt it. Lucifer leans slightly into her touch. He takes her palm swiftly and plants a kiss in the middle.

“A Tamagotchi,” Trixie answers, undeterred by her dad’s questions as she keeps caring for the little critter on the screen. “Mommy found it for me in one of her old boxes. She said she used to play with this in the 90s.” Trixie giggles as if the 90s was a million years ago.

“I used to always forget to clean its poop and it would die. I can’t believe the stupid thing still works.”

Dan looks over Trixie’s shoulder to watch her play. “I never had one of these.”

“Perhaps you were too old,” Lucifer says, barely looking over his shoulder as he quips at Dan.

“Be nice,” Chloe says under her breath.

_No_ , Lucifer mouths back. “Do you need a ride to the precinct?” he asks her vocally now.

“The precinct?” Dan asks.

“The Commissioner called me in for a meeting. Before you ask, no, I don’t know what he’s going to say. I just figure after today, we’ll know and if I have to move on, I’ll move on.”

“I can take you. I’m heading there after I drop off Trix.”

Chloe doesn’t answer right away.

“I can pick you up after,” Lucifer suggests.

She shakes her head. “No, but thank you both. I think I just want to do this on my own.”

“Of course,” Dan say right at Lucifer says, “Right.”

Chloe tucks Trixie’s lunch into her backpack and holds out her hand. For a minute, Trixie keeps mashing the buttons, only a couple, but Chloe remembers the thrill of something so little and seemingly basic, keeping her occupied for hours. She was probably too old to be playing with a Tamagotchi back then, but technology was just starting to boom and everything was so exciting. She clears her throat and Trixie looks up. “Oh, Mom, you said you used to bring it to school!”

“Yes and I also told you a failed a quiz because of it. You’ll get it back after school.”

Trixie reluctantly hands it over. “Can you make sure to feed it and clean its poop? Or it’ll die.”

“I’ll do my best,” she promises.

Dan pauses at the door as he leads Trixie out. “Will you call me? Later. To let me know how it goes?”

“Of course.” She waves to Trixie. “Have a good day, babe!”

Once they’re gone, Chloe finishes getting ready. She wants to feel like herself, like she did when she was on the job, so she throws on a well-worn leather jacket and her favorite jeans and boot combination. Lucifer hovers, checking on her, but mostly just waiting in the living room, flipping through a magazine she hasn’t yet touched. He looks up at her as she reenters the room and grins, flipping the magazine back onto the coffee table. 

Chloe grabs her phone from the counter and slides it into her bag. “What are you smiling about?”

Lucifer stands, slides his hands into his pockets, and crosses the room gracefully. “I was just remembering the first time we met. You’re a vision.”

She feels relief. “That’s what I was going for.”

“Well then, Detective, it’s been accomplished. Are you sure you don’t want a ride?”

“I am, although I do appreciate it. I might need some time to process, alone, if that’s okay.”

“More than okay, Detective. I’m here to support you.”

Chloe grabs her bag. “I should probably get going. Just in case there’s traffic.” She notices Lucifer glancing towards the clock on the stove. He grins a little. “It’s LA, you know. A block can take ten minutes.”

“Right, of course. I always leave an hour early for a fifteen-minute drive.” He advances on her. “You know, if you’re feeling anxious, I know just the thing to relieve you.” He leans down and presses soft, open-mouthed kisses on her neck.

She pushes at his chest. “Lucifer…”

“Yes, darling?”

“We are not having sex right now.”

“We certainly don’t have to have intercourse. I have many…talents, if you will, that only require your body and my mouth and—”

“You’re distracting me,” she says, interrupting him. 

“Is it working?”

She sighs. “No.”

Lucifer pulls back. “I tried. Are you truly planning on leaving now?”

“I am. I just…I need to get this over with. Tell me you understand.”

“Certainly not, considering your meeting is an hour from now, but I won’t stand in your way. I’ll have my phone. Call me if you need me. If you don’t call right away, I won’t be offended, but please, Detective, put me out of my misery eventually. I can only wait for so long to see if we have to move to Iowa to secure you a job.”

Her eyebrows knit together. “You’d move to Iowa for me?”

Lucifer takes the question seriously. “I’d move anywhere for you, Chloe.”

She stands close to him to kiss him. It’s the comfort she needs.

* * *

Chloe reaches the precinct much too early, so she walks around the block and considers what living in Iowa will feel like. After forty minutes, she walks into the precinct and rides the elevator to the Police Commissioner’s office. The same administrative assistant, of whom Chloe can’t remember her name, smiles at her from behind the desk. “Chloe Decker,” the woman says and checks something off in the computer. “Please, have a seat and Commissioner Bradley will be right with you.”

But Chloe doesn’t even have time to sit. “Detective Decker,” the Commissioner greets her, holding open the heavy glass door. “Come on in.”

Like last time, Chloe receives a lot of glances, but maybe not as many this time. She’s led into the same conference room as before. Once again, the Commissioner offers her a drink, but she politely declines. Her heart is racing in her chest. Despite what Lucifer says, Iowa isn’t on the table. She can’t live far away from Trixie and anything outside of Southern California will be too far for her and Dan’s arrangement.

Carl Bradley sits across from her, this time alone. He pours himself a glass of water and one for her, too, which Chloe does fist in her hand while she waits.

“Thank you for coming in on such short notice. I would’ve waited, but I assumed you wanted an answer sooner rather than later.”

“Yes and I appreciate that.”

He sighs. “I’ll cut to the chase. I submitted my report on Monday. I couldn’t very well use the explanation you gave me, despite believing you. And I do believe you, Chloe,” he says.

Chloe is glad he believes her, but she’s literally on the edge of her seat. “Can you tell me what your report said?”

“Yes, sorry, I was getting to that. I have a copy here,” he says and he slides a folder across the table towards her. Chloe reaches for the folder as Carl tells her, “In my official report, I said you were dead, but now you’re not and we have no explanation. There was no sign of conspiracy, no other agency involved, no cover-up—which are the concerns of the department and this office. It’s a loophole,” he tells her. “It’s vague enough, but it’s also the truth. Or enough of the truth.”

She skims the first page, which is a brief overview of the rest of the report. “Why wasn’t this an option when we last spoke? You acted like there was no solution.”

“Like I said last time, there could still be questions. You might not be trusted. I spent the last nearly two weeks reading as many of these reports as possible. I scoured the language, looking for something that could help us and I realized I was looking too hard. A lot of times these reports are for inexplainable occurrences, hence, why I used vague language. As long as I can prove no one had a stake in this, you weren’t coerced or your death wasn’t used for some other objective, there’s no reason to question your story further.”

“How did you prove those things?”

Carl motions to the folder. “It’s all in there. In the interviews your colleagues provided. There are no ties in any of your personal habits or professional ones that point to any third party. You’re a squeaky-clean cop and you seemingly have always been that way.”

Chloe sees Dan’s name on the top of one of the pages. She realizes it’s a transcript of his interview. “So, that’s it?” she asks.

“Hopefully. There’s a chance someone in a uniform could come knocking one day. You also might hear from reporters or sleuths once you’re back in the public eye. Not much we can do about that. But, eventually, this will all blow over.”

“I don’t get it. You never interviewed Lucifer. This seems too clean.”

He nods and steeples his fingers together against his chest as he leans back in the chair. “We intended to interview Lucifer, but I wanted to speak to you first and once I learned the truth, well, I no longer needed to speak to Lucifer. I understood his role. Or I think I do.”

Chloe flips through a few pages in the report. She reviews the wording—exemplary detective, honest and loyal, no signs of corruption, no outside agency, and it goes on and on. Carl is watching her. He looks like he’s trying to piece something together.

“What is it?” she asks.

“I was curious…something my aunt said all those years ago. I wonder…”

“Ask your question, sir.”

He leans forward, his elbows now on the conference table. “Did you know who you were when you woke up? Did you remember everything as it’d happened?”

Chloe nods. “Yes. Did your aunt?”

“She always said no, but I always suspected she was lying as to not have to answer questions.”

“Well, it’s like me and the department, isn’t it? I told _you_ I couldn’t remember anything, but there’s a few people who know everything. A few who know less than five percent but understand enough. Maybe your aunt just didn’t want to tell you the truth for whatever reason.”

Carl leans back again. “Maybe.”

Chloe closes the folder. “Is there anything else? I mean…is this really over?”

“As I said, my inquiry is closed. You’ll need to go see your lieutenant. He needs to officially reinstate you, but after that, you’re back to your regularly scheduled programming. I warn you though, Detective Decker, it’ll be rough for a while. Some of your fellow offers may never trust you again. But this is the only solution I could see.”

Chloe stands, wanting to leave in case a shoe drops. Carl stands as well. She holds out her hand to him. “Thank you. I appreciate the cleanness of this whole thing.”

“Yes, well, it’s not going to be easy what you’re going to go through.”

They drop hands and Chloe holds the folder to her chest. She walks around the table, pausing as she approaches Carl. “What happened to your aunt? I mean, is she still around?”

He shakes his head and slides his hands into his pockets. “No. She died a few years after. She killed herself,” he says sadly. The news strikes Chloe in her chest. “She didn’t have a good support system. She was lost for years afterwards. It seems like you don’t have that problem.”

“No. I’m very supported.”

“Keep it that way. Good luck, Detective Decker.”

“Thank you, Commissioner Bradley.”

As Chloe leaves the Commissioner’s office, she thinks people are less interested in her than before. Maybe it’s just her hopeful mind, but she’ll take the inch. She takes the elevator downstairs to the precinct. She walks in and it feels different than the last few times she was here. The last time, she was being escorted out, relieved of her badge and gun, but after fighting for her position, for her career, she feels an immense sense of relief.

Chloe crosses the precinct towards Lt. Fisher’s office. His door is open when she knocks. He looks up. “Decker, I figured I’d see you today. Come on in and shut the door.” She does as she’s asked and takes a seat. “I assume you spoke to Bradley?”

“I just came from there.”

Fisher nods. “I don’t know you personally, Decker, but everything I’ve heard or read is good. I’ve told you before, I believe that you’re a good cop. I don’t know what happened that night with Barnes and Lucifer and your death or whatever it was. All I know is you’ve been cleared by the higher-ups and that’s good enough for me. If you’d like to come back, your desk is still yours. I can hand you your badge and gun today.”

Chloe doesn’t even need to think. “Yes, I’d like to be part of this team again.”

He nods. “Good, then. Take the rest of the week and we’ll see you on Monday.”

“That’s it?”

“Did you expect something different, Detective?”

“No. I don’t…I don’t know, sir.” She stands and once again, holds out her hand. “Thank you, Lieutenant.” He shakes her hand. “If a case comes in before Monday, you can call me. I’ve spent enough time on the sidelines. I understand it was necessary,” she tells him, as not to offend. “But I’m ready to get back into it.”

“I’ll remember that. And Decker…” he says before walking over to a safe. He unlocks it swiftly and removes a gun and badge, _her_ gun and badge. He walks around the desk and sets them in her now open hands. “I look forward to seeing you in action.”

Chloe smiles down at her hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheers to you for the support. You're all incredible. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
> 
> Also, I just finished the book _Rebecca_ by Daphne du Maurier yesterday. It was wonderful. I thought I might start sharing what I'm reading. If you have book suggestions, send them my way!


	28. Change is not in your DNA.

“So, this is just who you are now?”

Lucifer leans against the bar, looking out over the still-quiet Lux. It’s early—just barely noon. Maze isn’t even working yet. She sits on a stool next to him. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“She’s changed you.”

“People change, Mazikeen.”

“Yes, _people_. You’re the Devil, Lucifer. Change is not in your DNA.”

He half-turns to her. He raises his glass to his lips. “I take it you’re unhappy?” He sips the whiskey and regards her. He knows he’s been neglecting Maze lately, but it wasn’t on purpose. He’d blame it on the tether between him and Chloe, but he knows they’re beyond that. Loving her has kept him away, kept him tucked into his penthouse, spending hours just being with her. He didn’t mean to disregard his few responsibilities or other relationships. “I am sorry, Mazikeen,” he says sincerely. 

Maze worries a napkin between her thumb and forefinger. “Is this how it’s going to be?”

Lucifer shrugs. “I wish to not ignore you, but I also need to be there for the Detective right now. Once her life is settled, perhaps we’ll find a routine.”

“You’ll settle down and buy a house and a dog?”

“That’s not me and you know it.”

“The point is, I don’t know who you are, Lucifer.”

He fully turns to her now, leaning into her space. “Maze,” he says softly, “I am not trying to hurt you. You are as important to me today as you’ve always been. I just…I need to make room for Chloe. I’ve never had to balance my relationships like this before.”

Maze looks down at her glass. “I’m not weak enough to need you, I just…I wish you were still you.”

“I _am_ still me. Or maybe you’re right and I’m not, but I like who I am.” Maze rips at the napkin, taking a corner and balling it between her fingers. “I will try to balance my old life and my new. You know me, I don’t want to be babysitting a small human for the rest of my life, but I also don’t want to be here every night. I’ll talk to Chloe about it.”

“Won’t she be mad?”

Lucifer shakes his head. “I don’t think so. She has a life outside me, certainly. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Human relationships are complicated.”

He shrugs. “Sometimes. They can also be…fulfilling.” He grins at her. “You should try it out.”

“Never.”

“There’s my Maze.”

Maze offers him a soft smile back.

They continue reconnecting for some time until Maze needs to change for work, leaving Lucifer leaning against the bar. He’s never been a fan of Lux during the day. He tries not to judge, but most anyone day drinking at two p.m. don’t seem happy. Lucifer has always loved the pounding, vibrant vibe of the late hours. But looking out across the club now, he doesn’t see the sadness or loneliness. He sees a few men drinking together, laughing about old times. He sees a woman drinking a cocktail and reading a book, seemingly at her leisure. A few couples gather in one of the booths.

Lucifer smiles to himself. He thinks to Chloe. He’s checked his phone dozens of times, waiting for any news from her, but she’s been silent. He doesn’t want to bother, so he hasn’t texted, but he thought he’d hear from her by now. The offer of moving to Iowa is still on the table. He truly would move for her.

Perhaps he has changed immeasurably.

It’s like Chloe materializes out of thin air. He turns right as she’s walking down the stairs into Lux. She watches her feet as she goes, so he can’t tell how it all went. Lucifer rights himself, standing at the end of the bar for her. Chloe looks up, her eyes meeting his, and at first, he thinks it’s bad news. Her face is a mask and he prepares himself to be supportive. But then, she grins wide. Chloe rushes over to him. 

“Well?”

Chloe lifts her shirt just enough to flash her badge. Lucifer laughs and wraps her in a hug. Chloe holds him back and he can feel her laughing with relief against his chest. He runs his hand along to stroke her hair. “I’m so happy for you.”

When she pulls back, she reaches up to kiss him. Lucifer returns the kiss slowly. He can feel her grinning against his lips. He pulls away to say, “You need to tell me everything and we need to celebrate.” 

She sighs and sinks down onto one of the barstools. Lucifer walks around the bar and uncharacteristically pours them both a drink. “The Commissioner gave me a copy of his full report. I feel like I need to read it, but I’m still just spinning.”

“How’d he do it?”

Chloe tells Lucifer about Bradley using vague language often found in these kinds of reports. “It’s not right, of course, and we should work on tightening the language for the future, but it worked. I could face more questions in the future, but my lieutenant gave me back my job. I start again on Monday.”

Lucifer holds up his glass to hers. “To getting your life back.”

She holds back her drink. “No. I don’t just want my life back because you weren’t part of it. I want both—my old life and this life. I want to have my cake and eat it, too.”

He chuckles softly and nods. “Agreed. To your old life and your new one.”

Chloe taps her glass to his and takes a sip. Lucifer walks around and leans in beside her. She looks over at him, her eyes full of excitement and relief, or at least that’s how he reads her. In the couple of months since her return, he’s fallen in love with her and he believes—hopes—he can read her by now. He traps a lock of her hair in between his fingers, rolling it slowly over his forefinger with his thumb’s assistance.

She watches him, saying nothing at all. He knows there’s still work to be done with Trixie, especially, but at least Chloe will have another purpose again. Her career, which she’s always loved so much. Lucifer knows it’ll mean seeing less of her, but he’d give her months or years apart if it meant her happiness.

She sets her half-drank drink onto the bar top. “Can we go upstairs?” she asks.

Lucifer instantly feels the tether reaching for her. He finishes his drink and his glass joins hers. Lucifer takes her by the waist, sweeping her against him. “Anything you desire, Detective.”

Her eyes shimmer with enjoyment. “Let’s go.”

They rush up the stairs and it truly feels like they’re two teenagers sneaking around. In the elevator, they collide like two magnets, kissing and touching. Lucifer can practically taste her relief. She’s familiar by now, of course, but this wanton side of her he’s unfamiliar with. It drives him. He lifts her into his arms as the elevator opens and he begins to plan everything he wants to do to her and have done to him.

Inside the penthouse, Lucifer doesn’t even notice a disturbance. He’s too focused on the feeling of Chloe’s thighs wrapped around his middle. Her mouth hungry on his. Her hands already working deftly at the buttons on his vest, completely bypassing his suit jacket. He imagines putting her atop the bar, tasting her, listening to her moan for him, but then he hears someone clear their throat behind him.

Faster than any human, Lucifer sets Chloe behind him and she releases a breath with a curious look. “Wh—” she begins, but he turns away from her.

Lucifer relaxes when he notices Amenadiel and Michael sitting on his settee and a chair respectively. So now Lucifer has a moment to consider his raging hard-on. He half turns back towards Chloe, but the sight of her doesn’t help.

Chloe notices the visitors. “Amenadiel. Michael,” she says the second name with a touch of bitterness. Lucifer notices her wide-eyed stare. “Handcuffs?” she asks Amenadiel.

Lucifer’s back in his head when he turns, also noticing the handcuffs, but they’re nothing like the metal ones Chloe typically wears on her belt. No, these are slightly glowing. Nothing to be concerned about, if a human should see, but noticeable if you stare for too long. Celestial handcuffs, as it were, or the closest description to something like that. Lucifer advances on his brothers. “I take it you were successful learning more about Michael’s intentions.”

“I am sitting right here, brother,” Michael almost sneers. “You don’t need to talk around me.”

Chloe stands beside Lucifer. “What’s going on?”

Michael holds up his hands. “I’ve been caught.”

“I don’t understand.” She looks to Amenadiel. 

He sighs. “Zachriel confessed that Michael…manipulated the situation. Manipulated Zachriel, himself. He would’ve helped you, Chloe. But Michael lied. Said it was Father’s will that you receive no further help from celestials. It seems Michael has been forcing himself as Father’s right-hand for a few centuries now and as soon as he’s given a little power, he turned it onto you.”

Lucifer can feel his blood boiling as he looks at his twin who wears his face, but has nothing but contempt as he looks back at Lucifer. “Tell us everything,” he demands of Michael.

“Do I _have_ to go over all of this again? I told Amenadiel and—”

“Tell us.”

Chloe crosses her arms over her chest, looking braver than Lucifer feels.

“Fine,” Michael says and rolls his eyes. “But the two of you are no fun. Amenadiel’s right; Father had been giving me more responsibilities. Well, I talked him into it, but he seemed happy to allow me to take over the responsibilities of all deaths on Earth, including notifying Azrael when she’s needed. I hadn’t tested it yet, called her when she wasn’t necessary, but then I saw it. You see, if I did this, if I had a human taken too early, I’d want to watch how their lives played out. I always resurrect after moments, so lives are usually unchanged, but there I had a shot. Chloe Decker, a new associate of my dear Devil brother, lying dead. Father still gave orders on who would stay on Earth, but I tricked Him and sent Azrael.”

Lucifer’s hands turn into a fist. “You did this.”

“Yes, I just told you that.”

Lucifer feels Chloe’s palm on his forearm and he holds himself back for a moment. “So, is it all bullshit? Needing Lucifer to resurrect me? The tether? The gift?”

“The gift is real,” Amenadiel says and Lucifer instantly trusts him. “You were put here Chloe to bring light back to the Lightbringer.”

“Why?” Lucifer asks, feeling a tightness in his throat.

“I think Father wanted to give you a second chance.”

Lucifer scoffs. “I doubt that.”

Michael faux yawns, but Chloe isn’t deterred. She walks closer to him and Lucifer wants to pull her back and protect her, but she needs answers. “What about the rest of it?”

“The rest of what?” he asks.

Chloe’s hand turns into a fist next to her thigh. “Did you need Lucifer to resurrect me?”

“No.”

It’s like a balloon losing air how quickly Chloe deflates. “Oh,” is all she says. 

Michael continues, clearly proud to have all the attention. “Lucifer has always been…single-minded,” he says with a sneer, looking his brother in the eyes. “I knew he wouldn’t want to help me, but I hoped he’d want to help you for all his selfish reasons, but mostly because he was attracted to you. And so, I planted needing him with Amenadiel, who, like a good brother, fetched Lucifer. I needed him connected to the idea of him bringing you back.”

“Why?”

Chloe’s voice is quieter now and Lucifer wants to comfort her, but he’s still unsure how to as Michael shares more and more secrets of his plot. 

“The tether,” Michael says almost gleefully. “Soulmates and all that.”

It’s like Amenadiel has a lightbulb moment. “You told me that the tether is basically soulmates, which I told to Chloe.”

“And it is. I didn’t lie about that. Two humans can be soulmates, although it happens much less often than humans would like to think. Soulmates are rare and there’s no true pairings between humans and celestials, except for this one small thing. A tether. It’s a way to give and take emotions, like a river if the water could change directions. One gives and the other takes and vice versa. It’s not often used because tethers can be tricky things. They’re not supposed to last long. A day or two, at most. If a tether is present for too long, then it begins sucking away power from the human.” Michael looks at Chloe now. “Power to love. Power to feel secure, safe, loved in return. And it gives that power to the anchor. To Lucifer, in this instance.”

Lucifer feels the tether, alive and well in his stomach. He knows someone lives on the other side and he glances at Chloe. She shivers more than once and he wants nothing more than to reach out to her, but he stops himself because he now knows everything she’s been feeling, everything he’s been feeling, is some sick game. He’s like a parasite and she’s the host and he’s sucking everything from her.

For a moment, he allows himself to remember her looking up at him from his bed. Her body in his arms, her lips turned up, her eyes lit with happiness. She stroked his cheeks, his lips, along his nose and chin. _“I love you,”_ she’d said. It was just a couple of weeks ago. The morning after she’d said no to Zachriel’s offer. He’d felt so full of her. But now, the memory feels dark.

Lucifer meets Michael’s triumphant stare. “Feeling a little lost, brother?”

“No,” Lucifer says almost immediately. “You’ve been very clear. The tether,” he clears his throat. “Chloe being tethered to me has made her feel as she’s felt the last few months.” He notices she’s watching him now, but Lucifer can’t look at her. “Feeling distanced from Trixie, her job, the father of her child…it’s because of me.”

“Luci,” Amenadiel says, “no. It’s because of the tether.”

Lucifer feels more clear-headed than he has in months. “I’m the anchor,” he says, repeating Michael’s words. “We wouldn’t be here if not for me. If Chloe had never met me,” he says with a small laugh, still not looking at her, “then she’d be living her life as she should.”

He can’t believe he didn’t see it. It’s like Maze said just a little while ago, he’s not himself. He hasn’t been himself for months now. He’s been so focused on Chloe, on being a shoulder for her, someone to trust in, and then eventually, someone to share a bed with. To sleep with. To lose himself in. But he’s not been himself. Because of a tether. It all makes sense now and now there’s only one thing to do.

“Remove it.”

Michael perks up. “What?”

“Lucifer,” Chloe’s quiet voice cuts through the room.

He still doesn’t look at her. “Cut it. Remove it. Do whatever you need to do.”

“He could be lying,” Amenadiel says.

Lucifer shrugs. “He could be, but we’ll know right away, won’t we.”

“No,” Chloe says quickly. He can feel her walking towards him and he’d like to just fly away, but he can’t because he still feels for her. Her hand touches his arm. “Look at me,” she pleads quietly. His eyes slowly meet hers. He can see the pain in her blue eyes. Chloe breaks their gaze to look at Michael and Amenadiel, who are both watching intently, but Amenadiel has the decency to look away.

Chloe takes Lucifer by the arm and pulls him away, towards his library. “He can’t just cut it.”

“Actually, I can!” Michael says from the other side of the room.

“Would you just shut the fuck up for a second?” Chloe cries back. 

Lucifer can’t help it in saying, “Detective, language.”

“He’s driving me nuts,” she whispers.

“Yes, well, now you understand.”

She looks at him. She reaches for him, stroking his face. “He can’t just cut it, Lucifer. I…I told you. I want to have my cake and eat it, too.”

At that he laughs softly. He takes a deep, cleansing breath and touches her face in return. She feels good. Smells good. He knows most of what he’s feeling is a lie, but his attraction to her has been there since day one. “Chloe, it’s what you wanted.”

“No, it’s not. It’s—”

“Did you not just hear Michael? The tether made us feel this way. The love you have for your daughter, I’ve been sucking that out of you. There is only one solution. He _must_ cut it and you’ll be free.”

He can see the tears welling in her eyes. “I don’t want to be free from you.”

“Not now you don’t, but you will. It’s okay,” he says softly. “You need this.”

“No.”

He holds her shoulders firmly, his fingers curling around her. “You can’t keep making unilateral decisions for us. You said no to Zachriel, but it’s my turn.”

She pushes his hands from her in anger. “That’s not remotely the same thing!”

“It is. It’s all celestial…bullshit,” he says. “You’ve been wrapped up in this world for far too long, darling. It’s time you return to what you love. A daughter who _loves_ you. A job where you’re the very best at what you do. You won’t miss me, I assure you. Michael can cut the tether right now and you’ll have Trixie again. You’ll be flooded with your love for her. Every little thing, her talking about marine life and asking you to read _Harry Potter_ again. Tucking her in, making her pancakes. All those little moments will be joyful again.”

He can see the flicker of hope in her eyes. He can still read her and he knows she wants that, but she’s being pulled in two directions. Lucifer plans to snip the one direction. He’ll remove himself from the equation.

But first, before it’s all gone, “I love you. In this moment, I love you deeply.”

She releases a sob and he feels emotion thick in his throat. “You can’t do this,” she says sadly, but he knows she’s given in. She’s chosen her daughter and that’s as it should be.

Lucifer tucks her hair behind her ear. “Please let me do this for you.”

She hangs her head.

“I won’t be gone, Detective. Should you need anything you can always call upon me. You’ll always drink for free at Lux.”

“I don’t care about that,” she whispers and looks at him again.

Lucifer wipes away her tears. He forces himself to smile even though it breaks his heart to see her like this. “It’s okay that you chose her,” he says so quietly, which Chloe hears and cries a little harder. “She needs you and you don’t need me.” She opens her mouth, but Lucifer cuts her off. “I’m going to ask Amenadiel to take you to Trixie. He can fly you there. Get you to her in a moment. I can’t…I’d like you to be far away when he cuts the tether.”

Chloe steps into his arms, her body pressing to his. “Please, Lucifer.”

He now feels his own tears spill. “Like I said, I’ll be here if you need me, but I have to do this for you. For Trixie.”

She nods slowly.

Lucifer leans closer, his forehead pressed to hers for a moment before he closes the distance and kisses her. It’s a goodbye kiss, electric with pain. He grips her, trying to pour whatever emotions he feels into her. A final memory before all these feelings are washed away. He wants to extend this kiss forever. To never release her. He wants to take it all back but for once, he can’t be selfish. He has to do what’s right.

When they pull away, Lucifer takes her by the hand and leads her back into the living room. Amenadiel barely makes eye contact, but he’s heard everything and gives Lucifer a single nod. 

“Please, brother, wait until she’s far enough away before cutting it,” Lucifer asks Michael.

“Fine.”

“Amenadiel,” Lucifer says.

Chloe turns again and grips Lucifer’s suit jacket. He looks into her fierce eyes. “I love you. It’s not because of some tether,” she says with so much confidence he almost believes her. “I’ll come back tonight. Please don’t leave.”

“We don’t make promises we can’t keep, although you’re owed one to break after I broke my promise to keep you alive.” He clarifies, “If Michael is telling the truth, you don’t love me, not really.” Lucifer must believe Michael is telling him the truth because if he allows hope in, he’ll break from losing her.

“You don’t know how I feel.”

“I do. I can feel it in my stomach.” Lucifer sighs and steps back from her. “Trixie needs you. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine, Detective.” He adjusts his cufflinks, as if he’s confident and unaffected, but it’s part of that mask he wears. Once again, Lucifer says, “Amenadiel.”

Amenadiel arrives beside Lucifer. “What about him?” he asks Lucifer.

“I’ll deal with him.”

Michael laughs and rolls his eyes.

“You’ll need help.”

“Once she’s settled come back.”

Lucifer looks away from Amenadiel and Chloe. He listens as Amenadiel asks for consent to carry her. Lucifer once texted Chloe to see if she’d want him to fly with her and she’d said yes. It was before her meeting with the Police Commissioner. He’d been sitting in his Corvette, worried about her, and wanted to make her feel better. But it won’t be him carrying her off, but Amenadiel. Chloe says yes and he knows she’s staring at him.

He doesn’t look at her again because he can’t.

They leave from the terrace and Lucifer watches Michael. Minutes pass and Lucifer waits and then, all at once, he feels it. It’s a tightening, a hollowing feeling in his gut. The warmth that settled there is sucked out and disappears. It _hurts_ , which he didn’t expect. It’s like the lights dim and he’s being carved out. He searches for something to live there, but there’s nothing, absolutely nothing. He presses a hand to his stomach and he wonders what Chloe’s feeling.

Michael sighs. “Well then, now what?”

Lucifer swallows the bile in his throat. He’s in pain and worries that Chloe’s in pain. Or, perhaps, she’s riding a wave of love for everything she once loved. Hopefully she’s not even thinking of him. That thought drives him.

He refocuses. He still has work to do. He looks at Michael. He wants to deck him. Chuck him into a box, wrap it in chains, and sink it to the bottom of the ocean. He wants to rocket him to Pluto, all for hurting Chloe. Lucifer plays scenarios in his head and he feels a spark of warmth from the idea of punishing his brother. He smiles slowly.

“Oh, I have a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, commenting--should you so choose, and being so supportive!


	29. A Lucifer thing

Chloe feels something akin to a plug being pulled from a drain in her stomach and suddenly a rushing of emotion. She gasps and winces because it hurts. 

“Are you okay?” Amenadiel asks.

She shakes her head no and clutches her stomach.

“We’re almost there.”

Everything is bizarre— _too_ bizarre. She can handle Lucifer’s wings and his Devil face and being a gift for him. She’s sleeping with the Devil, in love with him—or is she? But _this_ , being flown across the city by Amenadiel, whom she hardly knows, is bizarre. She’s as stiff as a board, wanting nothing more than to have Lucifer’s arms around her. Does that mean the tether hasn’t been cut? Does wanting him still mean something?

She groans in frustration. She needs answers.

Amenadiel holds her delicately, taking his job seriously. He dips down from the low-lying clouds and Chloe sees her world expanded before her. Rows and rows of similar houses—some with pools in the backyard, some with brightly painted cars parked in the driveway. They pass her house and she almost says something, but remembers Trixie isn’t there; she’s at school. She looks up at Amenadiel, his face set sternly.

“How do you know where Trixie’s school is?”

Her elementary school comes into view, a brown brick building with a chained-in playground. 

“Consider me a guardian angel,” Amenadiel says, as if it’s some joke.

She looks down and there’s people everywhere, but no one even looks their way.

“How can’t they see us?”

“It’s a perk,” he says simply.

Amenadiel lands and instantly tucks away his wings. He sets Chloe on her feet. They stand a block from the school on the opposite side of the street. Amenadiel looks around, surveying. If Chloe remembers Trixie’s schedule, she’ll be in social studies. 

Chloe searches for the tether, but she finds a baseball-shaped hole in her stomach. She feels a rush of sadness, of loss. It feels like Lucifer has died, but she knows that’s not true. Or she hopes that’s not true. Michael’s unhinged, clearly, and she hates that Lucifer is alone with him. She turns to Amenadiel. “You should go.”

“Not until you see your daughter.”

“Amenadiel,” she says softly and his dark eyes meet hers. He and Lucifer might be opposites in many ways, but they have the same depth to their eyes. “He needs you. Please, go.”

He nods mutely.

Chloe swallows. She can’t find the tether, but she still feels a warmth in her chest when she thinks of Lucifer. She lays her hand on her heart, wanting to feel that warmth in her fingers. Amenadiel regards her. She laughs a little, feeling relieved. “Tell him…tell him I’ll be back tonight. Will you tell him that?”

“Of course.”

“Okay. Thank you. Now, go. I’m fine, honestly.”

Amenadiel’s jaw tightens briefly before he unfurls his wings and is gone.

Chloe turns back to Trixie’s school and she’s waiting for the tsunami of emotion for her daughter, but she’s still so full of love for Lucifer. Maybe Michael lied about everything, but she’s still hopeful. She checks the street before crossing and practically runs up the front steps. Chloe hasn’t been to Trixie’s school since the day she got into the fight—back when she’d first met Lucifer.

She walks down the hall, her boots clicking on the tiled floor, and she walks into the office. The office manager, a kindly older woman greets her warmly. “Detective Decker, good to see you. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, uh,” Chloe begins, remembering she has no excuse. “I need to pull Trixie from school for the rest of the day. I forgot…she has an appointment. I’m sorry, I should’ve notified you earlier.”

Margie waves her hand in the air. “Nonsense. You have a lot on your plate. I’ll call down and have her brought here.” Margie’s hand hovers over the phone. “You know, I hate to be nosy, but I heard a rumor.” Chloe looks at Margie. “Did you really die?”

“Oh, um, yeah. Yes.”

At this point, lying feels like it’ll make everything worse.

“How did you come back?”

Chloe sees a flash of Lucifer sitting at his piano. His dark head bent as he plays quickly, his fingers moving almost of their own accord. She can practically taste him on her lips and she shivers at the thought of touching him, which would no doubt bring out a glorious smile on his handsome face.

Why can she still feel Lucifer running through her veins? Wasn’t this supposed to be gone?

She gives Margie a tight smile. “Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a rush.”

“Yes, of course!” Margie flushes. “I’m sorry, Detective.”

“It’s fine. I’ll, uh, wait in the hallway.”

Chloe steps out into the hallway before Margie can say anything else. It’s not her fault; she’s just curious. Chloe understands, but she really can’t be boasting about her resurrection to everyone. Somehow it worked with the Police Commissioner, but she was lucky. Her luck will eventually run out and now is not the time to test it.

She paces along the hallway, looking at the children’s art posted on the walls. Chloe looks for something from Trixie, thinking she’ll recognize her daughter’s work through all the rest. She looks at pictures of families standing next to houses, families with dogs and others with multiple kids all portrayed as little stick figures. Chloe smiles, eyeing the fluffy clouds drawn with crayons in the skies and the spikey green grass.

She looks up and instantly knows which one is Trixie’s. The house is blue and there’s Dan and Chloe with Trixie between them. Trixie’s given herself pigtails. Chloe is wearing heeled boots. Dan is wearing head-to-toe blue like his old uniform. She’s included a police badge for both of her parents.

But it’s not the badges that catch Chloe’s eye. It’s the figure standing to her right, the one holding her stick hand. Lucifer. Dark hair, a smile, and little Devil horns. She laughs, reaching up to touch the horns. At the very bottom, in blue, Trixie’s written: My Family. Chloe feels her chest tighten. She pulls out her phone to take a picture. She quickly sends it to Lucifer with the message: _You’re family_. She knows he’s busy, so she doesn’t expect a response, but that doesn’t mean she looks away from her phone for the next couple of minutes.

Chloe turns away, tucking her phone back into her pocket, as she hears little feet running down the hallway towards her. Instantly, as soon as she sees Trixie, she feels the difference and it practically knocks the wind out of her. It’s not just a tsunami, but a hurricane and an avalanche. She’s completely overwhelmed. It’s like two months of love for Trixie hits her in her chest. She sinks down to Trixie’s level and opens her arms. “Mommy!” Trixie cries happily and goes into Chloe’s arms, as if she can feel the difference.

She folds her arms around Trixie, feeling her small body pressed against her. “Hi, Monkey,” Chloe says between tears. She feels it now, how much she truly lost the last two months, but it’s all there now. She _loves_ her daughter more than anyone in the world. She kisses Trixie’s forehead and then each of her cheeks. “I missed you,” she says.

Trixie wipes away Chloe’s tears and she realizes it’s the second time today someone’s had to do that. “Are you back?” Trixie asks, completely attuned to what’s been happening the last few weeks.

“I’m back.”

Trixie wraps her arms around the back of Chloe’s neck again. “Can we get ice cream?”

Chloe laughs and stands, lifting Trixie up and holding her tightly to her chest. “Yes. Ice cream and cake. We’ll eat ourselves just about sick.”

“Maybe we should eat some carrots or Daddy’ll get mad.”

“Okay, some carrots, too,” Chloe laughs, feeling so full of love. “We should call your dad. See if he can take a break and grab some ice cream with us.”

Trixie nods enthusiastically. “Can I get a banana split? I don’t know what it is but I know it’s big.”

“You can have whatever you want, Monkey.”

Chloe walks with Trixie from the school, listening to her chattering happily about her morning, her lunch and the extra clementine the lunch lady gave her. Chloe could keep crying. She feels like she might, but she swallows it away because this is a good thing. She feels like herself again, herself but still changed. Chloe expects that she’ll always feel a little changed.

* * *

Dan balances Trixie’s banana split and Chloe’s ice cream cone and his own and while Chloe would usually help, she doesn’t want to be more than a foot from her daughter right now.

The afternoon is hot, so the ice cream tastes delicious. Dan sits on the other side of Trixie and for a minute, Chloe just listens to Trixie tell her dad all about her day, too. When Chloe called Dan, she didn’t give him many details, but told him she was back. She was herself and it was ice cream time. Dan didn’t hesitate.

Trixie can only eat about a third of her banana split and she’s covered in ice cream, so Chloe and Dan watch her walk off to the bathroom to wash her hands.

“So, you said you were back?”

“Yes.” Chloe keeps her eye on the bathroom door as Trixie disappears inside.

“I think I deserve a bit more than just ‘yes.’”

“You do,” she agrees, briefly looking at him. “I’ll explain it all, but it was a celestial thing.”

“A Lucifer thing,” Dan supplies.

Chloe hasn’t thought of Lucifer once since she wrapped her arms around Trixie, but now his name slides through her limbs. She wonders what he’s doing. She still wants to see him, but right now, she can’t leave Trixie.

She shakes her head. “Not in the way you think. His brother…I can’t explain it right now.” Trixie exits the bathroom and Chloe looks over at Dan. “But I will, okay? I want to tell you everything.”

He nods. “Okay. I trust you.”

“Thanks, Dan.”

* * *

Later, Chloe sits on the couch with Trixie watching her favorite nature documentary. Chloe keeps leaning down to kiss the top of her head, smell the floral shampoo she uses. They’re both so full on ice cream and brownies, so moving isn’t much of an option, but even if they were full of a well-balanced meal, Chloe can’t imagine moving.

Except…she hasn’t heard from Lucifer. Again, he has to be busy, but after the day they’ve had, she needs to know where his head’s at. She needs to make sure he’s okay. She needs to know how he feels because she feels…strange. 

Chloe can still feel the hole the tether left. It aches inside her, only slightly filled by her love for Trixie and her love for her previous life. She’s excited for work on Monday. She’s so thankful for Dan and all he’s done. But none of that completely erases the feeling. But despite the hole, she also feels just as full of love for Lucifer. She didn’t expect that, but it’s there. It’s in her chest and it feels just as real as anything else.

She lifts her phone and scrolls through the texts she sent after the family photo Trixie drew.

_Are you okay?_

_It worked, Lucifer. Trixie…it’s like magic._

_I’m coming to visit tonight. I promised I would._

_Please, Lucifer._

_Okay, well, I’ll be there. I love you._

She hadn’t wanted to say that in a text. She wanted to tell him she loved him to his face. To tell him the tether was only one small facet of their relationship. The rest of it is just them. Falling in love. Being in love. 

Chloe runs her fingers through Trixie’s hair as she thinks. She’ll never sleep tonight if she doesn’t check in on Lucifer.

“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Trixie asks.

“Why do you think something’s wrong?”

Trixie sits up and folds her legs beneath her. “Because you seem sad. I thought you were happy to be back.”

“Oh Monkey, I am. I _am_. I just…I’m worried about Lucifer,” she says honestly.

“Why?”

“Well, he and I had a tough day and I haven’t heard from him.”

“You should go see him.”

She smiles softly at her daughter. “You’re sweet, but I need to be here for you. I’ll…I’ll go see him tomorrow when you’re at school.” The thought of waiting until tomorrow hurts. She _promised_ , but she can’t leave Trixie. She has no one to watch her and after two months of feeling like a bad mom, she needs to stay.

But Trixie has other plans. “Call Ella.”

“Ella?” Chloe asks. “How do you know Ella?”

“Daddy takes me to work sometimes and it’s boring, but Ella is funny. She’s watched me before when Daddy had to go into work. She’ll watch me while you go see Lucifer.”

“Monkey, that is very generous of you, but Ella is probably busy. Plus, I want to stay here with you.”

Trixie pulls out her cell phone, something Chloe wasn’t thrilled with their seven-year-old having, but Dan insisted. They monitor it like crazy, but sometimes Trixie is too fast. She types something and Chloe reaches for the phone. “What are you doing?”

“I texted Ella,” she says honestly.

Chloe looks at the phone and sure enough, Trixie’s texted: _My mom needs to check in on Lucifer. Can you watch me?_

“Trix, you can’t text Ella something like this. _I_ am here.”

“But you’re worried.”

“Yes, but…I’ll get over it. It’s fine.”

The phone vibrates in her hand. _Is Lucifer okay? I’ll be there in 15._

Chloe sighs. 

“It’s okay, Mommy. You help people. You should help Lucifer.”

Chloe marvels at Trixie. She’s said it so many times, but her daughter is at least thirty years older than she appears. She reaches out and takes Trixie’s hand. “I made him a promise, otherwise I wouldn’t leave. But I will make this promise to you: I’ll be back to read you to sleep, okay?”

Trixie nods. “Okay.”

When Ella arrives, she throws her arms around Chloe, which throws Chloe off a bit. “What’s that for?”

“You got your job back!” Ella says excitedly and Chloe remembers that yes, she did get reinstated. It feels like days ago. She realizes she didn’t even tell Dan, too preoccupied with her feelings for Trixie and then worrying about Lucifer. “I couldn’t believe it when the Lieutenant told us. I get to call you again about cases!”

“You only called me about one before.”

Ella walks into the house as if she’s been here before, but maybe she has. “Yes, but we’ve bonded since then. This is going to go great.” Ella realizes something and turns to Chloe. “Oh, Decker, I completely forgot about the Lucifer stuff. Is he okay?”

“He’s okay. We just…had an intense day. I just need to check on him. But I will be back soon. And thank you for being here. I had no idea you’d watched Trixie before.”

At the mention of her name, Trixie walks from her bedroom, now dressed in pajamas as it gets closer to her bedtime. But Chloe has almost ninety minutes, which will be just enough time to drive to Lux, check on Lucifer, maybe kiss him—absolutely no sex—and get back on time.

Trixie walks up to Ella with her ant farm. “Look how many ants I have now!”

Ella grins at Trixie and squats to her level. “Wow, that’s _a lot_ of ants. Have you named them?”

“Yup. This one’s Tracy and this one Kitty and this one Adam and this one…”

“We’ll be fine,” Ella says quietly. “Go get your man. Bring him back here. I miss him telling me his crazy stories.”

Chloe nods. She looks to Trixie, who is still naming off ants that all look exactly the same. Chloe doesn’t interrupt, simply watching as Ella follows Trixie to the couch and they bond over Trixie’s love of all things living. She really should get her a dog or something. Maybe a cat. Her daughter is just brimming with love for creatures and she’s old enough to learn how to take care of something other than herself.

The drive to Lux feels like about four hours, but when Chloe arrives, she’s let through immediately by the doorman. He nods at her and Chloe walks into the club. It’s busy, like every night. She has a feeling Lucifer is upstairs, but she looks around downstairs, just in case. She spots Maze at the bar, but she’s distracted with customers. The piano is quiet and the booths are all occupied by people who are not Lucifer. Chloe stands there for a moment too long, but she needs to be thorough.

Chloe takes the elevator upstairs, reminded of the two of them clinging to each other within these walls only a few hours ago. She walks into the dark penthouse and her stomach drops. Nothing has changed, except for how quiet the space is. “Lucifer?” Chloe calls out. She reaches over and flips on the light switch, which grants her enough light to walk through the penthouse. The lights behind the bar are turned off, which truly makes the space feel cold. She keeps moving, walking into his bedroom, checking his bathroom, but…Lucifer’s not here.

She sighs and walks back into the living room. On a small end table, she spots his phone. Chloe walks over and picks it up. She sees her messages, all unread. She looks around and despite knowing he’s not here, she calls out for him again, “Lucifer?”

Chloe sets his phone back down where she found it and looks for a piece of paper. She walks over to his desk and sits down. He could return at any moment, but she wants him to know she was here and that he should come to her house when he gets back. She writes quickly, keeping her promise to Trixie in mind. 

_Lucifer,_

_I texted you a few times, but I was worried. I’m not sure where you are, but I stopped by. I need to see you. Talk to you. Please come by my house. Or call me or text me. No hour is too late._

_I love you, Lucifer Morningstar._

_Love, Chloe_

She leaves the note on the bar and decides to check in with Maze before she heads home.

Maze is slinging drinks, mostly ignoring Chloe for a while before finally making eye contact. Maze nods and walks over. “Whiskey?” she asks, already pulling out a glass.

“Oh, no. I’m not here to drink.”

“Then you’re probably in the wrong place.”

“Have you seen Lucifer?” Chloe yells over the music.

Maze looks at her. “I figured he’s with you.”

Chloe shakes her head. “No. He was with Michael last I saw him. I haven’t heard from him in like eight hours and he left his phone upstairs. I was worried.”

“Well, Michael’s a dick, but I’m sure Lucifer’s fine. His brother wouldn’t hurt him.”

Chloe feels an uncomfortable tightness in her stomach again, reminding her that maybe Michael was once harmless, but he’s been on a power kick, of which could’ve ruined her life. She gives Maze a nod. “Yeah, you’re probably right. If you see him, tell him to call me, okay?”

Maze nods. “Sure, but you don’t need to worry. Lucifer can handle his brother.”

Chloe pushes herself away from the bar and walks towards the stairs. She pauses beside Lucifer’s piano and wonders what he last played. She can’t shake the feeling in her stomach—not the cut tether, although that feeling is still quite uncomfortable—but the other feeling. The feeling that something is wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! As always, I'm hanging in the comments and can't wait to respond to you. Cheers!


	30. Chloe

Chloe leans against her car in the parking lot sipping her morning coffee, but in her mind, she’s at a crime scene. Any crime scene will do. It’s been almost a week since she wrapped her recent case and nothing else has come across her desk so she’s antsy. Work distracts her and right now, it’s failing her.

Linda pulls in and parks beside Chloe’s car. She climbs out with a few bags over her arm.

Chloe picks up the second cup of coffee she brought. “I’ll carry it in for you.”

“Thank you.”

The two women walk into the building together. “So, there’s this conference in Columbus in a couple weeks that I was thinking of attending.” Chloe presses the elevator button as she listens to Linda. “I have an old colleague, Ben Willis, who emailed me out of the blue to see if I was planning on attending. He asked me to grab a drink with him.”

Chloe smiles a little. “What kind of colleague was he?”

“A good-looking one,” Linda says with a matching smile. “He was smart, of course, and funny. We were both just starting out and we’d get together a few times a week to vent about our patients. He was…essential to getting through my first-year practicing.”

“What happened to him?”

The elevator opens and Chloe holds the doors open for Linda. They walk down the hallway. “He had to move back to Baltimore to help his mom after his dad died. As far as I know, he just stayed there.”

Linda pulls her keys from one of her bags. 

“Are you going?”

She shrugs, pausing to unlock the door. “I was thinking about it, just from a professional standpoint, it’s good, but with Ben…it’s not like a drink means anything. We were close, but that was fifteen years ago. He’s different; I’m different. He lives in Baltimore; I live here.”

Chloe shrugs. “I say you go and whatever happens, happens.”

Linda unlocks the door. “You’re awfully carefree today.”

The two women walk from the waiting room and then into Linda’s office. Chloe sets Linda’s coffee onto the side table beside her chair and sinks down onto the couch. She crosses one leg over the other and rests her coffee cup on her knees, wrapping her hands around the cup as if she needs the warmth at the start of this already hot September morning.

“I’m not carefree,” Chloe admits, which is fairly unnecessary because anyone who knows her knows she’s never been defined as carefree. “I’m just…” she sighs. Linda sets her things down but sits in her chair before Chloe can say any more. “It’s been six months,” she tells Linda.

She nods. “It has. How are you feeling?”

“Not great, mostly, but when I woke up today, I felt…I feel like maybe it’s time to move on.”

“Move on how?”

Chloe looks down at her thighs, shaking her head slowly. “I think I need to stop visiting his penthouse.” She meets Linda’s surprised gaze. “I know, I know. I told you you’d have to pull me out of there by my hair, but…that was six months ago. He’d just disappeared. I was so raw. But…it’s not healthy for me. And if I read that fucking note I left one more time…”

“Why don’t you like the note?”

“Because I didn’t say anything important! I told him I’d stopped by and I loved him, but I didn’t tell him about Trixie or Dan. We barely celebrated me getting my job back. It was two lines and I’m embarrassed it even exists.”

Linda folds her hands over her notepad. “So why don’t you throw it out?”

Chloe knew this was coming. She’s been asked this question before, mostly by Maze, but she’s avoided the subject altogether. But now, the note feels like it’s taunting her. Every time she visits his place, she sees it on the bar. She remembers placing it there, hopeful. She never thought he’d just be gone. She hadn’t planned for their last interaction to be her crying, promising to return to him. But that’s not even the worst part.

She has no idea if he’s even alive. There were no signs of a scuffle or any evidence that pointed to foul play, but then that just leaves the door open to Lucifer having just chosen to leave. He left her. He left his life, which also doesn’t make sense.

And that note is a reminder to her hope. 

Yet, she can’t throw it out.

Chloe just shrugs. “I can’t.”

Linda nods thoughtfully. “You said the note didn’t say anything important, but you did say that you told Lucifer you loved him in the note. Wouldn’t you consider that important?”

“Well sure, but he knew that. I meant I didn’t profess anything to him. If I was going to leave some dumb note, it should’ve meant something.”

“What would you like to profess to him?”

“Now?”

“Sure, why not?”

Chloe thinks for a minute. Her coffee is forgotten in her hands, simply an anchor to this time and place. _Anchor_ , she repeats, remembering Lucifer calling himself an anchor to her. He thought he’d been pulling her beneath the water, but that wasn’t true. Together, they were the sails and…okay, well, that’s about as much sailing metaphors as she has, but it is a frame of reference. Lucifer was never her anchor. He was like the sea, guiding her, carrying her to shore.

She smiles a little. “I’d want him to know I’d wait forever if it meant I could see him just once more.”

Linda returns a soft smile. “Do you think he felt the same?”

“Oh, I know he did.”

* * *

Chloe gets the call as she drives to the precinct. 

“It’s your lucky day,” Ella says happily on the other end of the call.

“Thank you. I need this today.”

“Dan’s already on the scene, but it’s a rough one. Body’s been dead for over a week and in this heat, well, it’s pretty gnarly. We have masks, so it helps, but I just want you to be prepared.”

“Thanks, Ella. Send me the address and I’ll head right over.”

The crime scene is an unassuming bungalow near the train station. Chloe stops by the forensics van to grab gloves and a mask, even a pair of protective glasses, just in case. She tucks the glove and glasses beneath her arm as she pulls on the gloves.

Ella meets her in the yard. “Hey.” 

From her tone, Chloe realizes Ella was downplaying how bad the scene is. “Take a break, Ella. I can have Dan fill me in.”

She shakes her head no. “I’m good. Just needed a breather.” Ella holds up the notepad she’s been scribbling on. “We found his wallet. Jason Colbert. Nineteen. He was found after a neighbor complained about a foul smell. This house has been abandoned for a few months now, but it looks like Jason had no ties to the previous owners.”

“Any track marks?”

“Not that I can see right now, but the coroner will run a full tox screen. His body…well, it’s not good. It’s hard to pick up on any abrasions.”

“Any friends or family know why he might be here of all places?”

Ella shrugs. “Not sure yet. Dan’s been making some calls and he has some interviews set up. If it’s not drugs, then the murderer was careful. I haven’t seen any signs of another person entering or exiting the house. No shoeprints in the dust that don’t match Jason’s shoes. No signs of foul play. Dan’s thinking we’ll just be shooting this one over to narcotics.”

Chloe places the mask over her mouth and nose. “You might be right, but until we have the tox screen, I’m going to treat this like any other homicide.”

“Hey, are you doing okay today? I know it’s…” Ella asks, trailing off.

“I’ll be okay.” Chloe is glad for the mask, which hides the frown on her face.

The body is hard to look at. After at least a week in the heat of the summer, the whole house stinks and even the mask does little to stop the fumes. Chloe finds Dan in the back bedroom with the body. He stands a distance away. Chloe nods to greet him. “Ella called this gnarly; I should’ve listened.”

“Yeah. The coroner isn’t going to be happy.”

“Ella said there weren’t any signs of foul play.”

“Not so far, but I don’t know. There’s no drugs. Nothing suspicious. Even if we find drugs in his system, I don’t think this is an overdose. Unless someone came in the clean up the mess, but why?”

Chloe nods, leaning in close to see if she can spot anything, but Ella’s right, the body is just so decomposed already. “I told Ella we’ll just process this like any other homicide. Let’s make sure everyone is really thorough. I think one of us should stay here and interview the neighbors and the other can head back to precinct to interview the friends and family.”

“It’s your scene, so your call.”

Chloe doesn’t need much time to think. “You stay here. I’ll head back. Call me if anything comes up.” Processing a body all day isn’t the kind of distraction she needs, but interviewing friends and family is.

“Same. Are we still on for dinner tonight?”

“Yeah. Come on over at six and if you bring Trixie a cupcake, she’ll love you forever.”

“Well in that case, I’ll bring a cupcake for each of us.” Chloe can tell he’s smiling beneath the mask. “See you, Chlo.”

“Later, Dan.”

The drive back to the precinct should give Chloe time to consider the crime scene, but with so much reliant on the coroner, her mind drifts to Lucifer. Her hands tighten on the steering wheel and she wishes she could just push the thoughts away, but after her sessions with Linda, she’s always stuck in thoughts of him.

Initially, she’d gone to Linda to see if she’s seen him (which she hadn’t), but when Chloe got up to leave, Linda suggested she stay. Since then, Chloe has been showing up before Linda’s office even opens, a cup of coffee in hand, and thirty minutes to process everything from the last eight months. They talk about Lucifer a lot, but Chloe also talks about Trixie, and Dan, and work, and being resurrected. Most of her life has fallen back into place—her relationships with Trixie and Dan, work (with no one really caring much about that time she was dead except for a few who look at her suspiciously), and even a good routine with Linda and Ella and occasionally Maze. But Lucifer has left a big hole in her life.

Each day gets a little better, but nothing is truly better. Chloe misses him all the time. She doesn’t sleep well. She worries constantly. She’s prayed over and over again for any kind of message, but the celestial world has been quiet. After leaving her outside Trixie’s school, Amenadiel went to help Lucifer, but he’s disappeared, too. 

Chloe assumes they all left together and are somewhere together, but that’s not very comforting.

As she pulls up the precinct, she’s able to refocus, but like always, Lucifer is in the back of her mind.

* * *

Trixie practices her headstands against the wall and each time there’s a loud thump, Chloe looks over and Trixie calls out, “I’m okay!”

“Why are we doing headstands again?”

“Katie Walker taught me at lunch the other day. She’s so good. She doesn’t even need a wall!”

Chloe turns out the shredded chicken into a bowl. There’s a swift knock on the door. “Can you answer the door for your dad?”

Trixie pulls open the door and instantly ropes Dan into watching her headstands. Chloe sets the fixings for tacos on the table. “Stand there long enough and she’ll use you as her wall,” she teases. Trixie falls again but calls out that she’s okay. “Okay, Monkey, go wash your hands. Dinner’s ready.”

Dan sets a plastic container with four perfectly piped cupcakes on the counter. He also sets down a bottle of wine. She looks at him.

“The papers came through.”

“Really?”

He nods. “Yup. We’re officially divorced. I figured we should toast to it.”

“Toast to the end of our marriage?” Chloe isn’t broken up by the divorce. She wasn’t too broken up about the separation either. They both knew it was time and it made sense to officially divorce a few months ago. But still, it seems strange to toast to the ending of something that was so good for so many years.

Dan motions to the utensil drawer. “Do you have a corkscrew?” She turns to grab one. “It’s not about celebrating our divorce. It’s about celebrating us. Celebrating raising an awesome kid. Still being a team.”

“Okay, well, now I can get on board.” Chloe hands him the corkscrew. She also grabs two glasses and sets them on the counter.

Dan pours the glasses fuller than Chloe would normally drink during the week, but they’re celebrating. He holds up his glass. “Maybe we were a bit off with that ‘to death do us part’ thing,” he starts and Chloe laughs, “but maybe not. You will be part of my life until I die and I appreciate everything you do for Trixie. I wouldn’t want to be co-parenting with anyone else.”

Chloe touches her glass to Dan’s. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for this family. And hopefully I won’t die again because then promising the ‘to death do us part’ part isn’t so weighted.”

He laughs. “Yeah, no big ideas about dying again.”

“I’ll do my best.”

After dinner, Chloe waits a little white and drinks a lot of water to flush the wine from her system. One glass would never get her drunk, but she’s a cop and there’s a level of responsibility she must maintain. She grabs the keys from the table near the door. Dan looks over with a sleeping Trixie against his chest. He nods and she gives him a little wave.

Chloe climbs into her car and turns the radio on to distract her. She drives up to the valet, like always, and walks in past the bouncer, like always. “Hey Marco,” she greets him. Chloe walks along the balcony and looks down. After a few moments, Maze meets her gaze. As always, Maze shakes her head no. Chloe nods and heads downstairs. Some nights she goes straight to the penthouse, but not tonight.

Maze says something to one of the other bartenders and walks out from behind the bar. She claims one of the high-top tables, standing rather than sitting.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Maze says. She leans her forearms on the table. “Did you want a drink?”

“No, thanks. I’m driving.” Quiet settles between them, but it’s not truly quiet. Lux is just as busy as it was when Lucifer stood at the top of the stairs looking out. There have been questions about his absence, but Chloe’s been mostly kept away from anything having to do with Lux, which is her preference. Maze, on the other hand, has had to put out a lot of fires—some even not metaphorical fires. “It’s been six months,” Chloe says, but she knows Maze is aware.

Maze nods, looking away from her. “He’s such a selfish prick. He didn’t even offer to bring me back to Hell. Without him, Earth is worse than Hell.”

“He probably didn’t have time,” Chloe sighs. They’ve had this conversation too many times.

“At what point do we just give up?”

Chloe glares at her. “You want to give up?”

Maze stands straight. “What’s my other option? Look around corners for him? Wait for him until the end of time?”

“It’s only been six months.”

“He’s not coming back, Chloe. The sooner you realize that, the better.”

“You have _no_ idea if he’s coming back.”

“I know him,” Maze quips.

“So do I!”

It’s been tense for the two of them for the last six months. Maze has seemingly wanted to give up on Lucifer since day one, but Chloe holds out hope, even if it’s going to end up devastating her. Maze probably would’ve left back in March, but she stayed as soon as she realized Chloe was spending a little bit of time every day in Lucifer’s penthouse. Maze did the same thing when no one was around to see her.

They bonded over missing him, but even so, their realities are totally different.

Chloe tries not to take Maze’s feelings to heart. She knows Maze loves Lucifer in her own way. She knows holding onto hope is painful for Maze.

“I don’t think I can keep coming by.”

“You just said you’re not giving up.”

“And I’m not. If Lucifer returns—when,” she corrects herself, “I still live in the same house. I have the same phone number. I have the same desk in the precinct. He can find me if he has to, but coming here, waiting on a miracle. It’s not good for me.” She pauses and runs the toe of her boot along the rung of one of the chairs. “He wouldn’t want that.”

Maze sighs. “Should we just sell it?”

“It’s not ours to sell.” Chloe sighs. “Look, I’m not giving up and I’m not really going anywhere. I’m still here for you if you need someone. I just think it’s better if I don’t come here any longer.”

“I get that,” Maze admits, which makes Chloe raise her eyebrows. “It’s not easy being here every day.”

“Well, if you need to get away, you’re always invited over. I think Trixie likes you.”

“Of course Trixie likes me.”

Chloe pushes back from the table. “I’m going to head up there. I’ll stop by before I leave.”

She walks back up the stairs to the elevator, pressing the PH button. As always, Chloe feels nervous on the ride from Lux to Lucifer’s apartment. She’s not sure why she always feels nervous. Nothing changes. But still, she thinks he might be there. Sitting at his piano or leaning against the railing of his terrace. 

The elevator doors open and Chloe walks into the dark penthouse. She flips on the lights and then the blue lights behind the bar, which seem necessary to make the space feel like Lucifer’s. She eyes her note and looks away. She sets her purse on one of the bar stools.

Chloe walks through the living room to the doors leading to the terrace. She opens them, letting the hot, sticky evening air into the penthouse. She doesn’t do much when she visits Lucifer’s penthouse, but she does maintain what she can. The hot tub is covered, the chairs on the terrace are pushed back and out of the weather. She kicks off any debris and makes sure there are no cracks in the doors or windows. She leans against the railing and looks out over the city. She closes her eyes. Sometimes she tries to talk to him, sometimes not. Sometimes it feels like she’s trying to talk to the dead and that spooks her.

She doesn’t last long outside, but keeps the doors open as she walks back inside. She walks into his bedroom. His bed is made tightly, the same sheets she put on a month after he left. That’s when she knew something was really wrong. She cried as she washed his sheets.

Chloe sits on the bed with a sigh. She’s slept here a few times, but it’s been months. She might’ve considered sleeping here tonight if Trixie was with Dan. She could easily text Dan and tell him to take Trixie for the night, but she’s trying to stay amongst the people who are still here. Sleeping in an empty penthouse isn’t ideal.

She lies back against the mattress, giving herself just a minute to remember his fingers on her skin. His mouth against her. She tries not to go there, because it hurts, but she can’t be anywhere else right now. She feels a catch of emotion in her throat, but she swallows it away. She wants to be strong tonight.

After some time, Chloe pushes herself up from the mattress with a sigh. It’s time to go home.

Chloe walks over to the bar. She pours herself a small glass of whiskey, the kind Lucifer had been drinking before he disappeared. She pours herself not much more than a sip. She closes her eyes and that’s the moment she hears them.

Wings.

She hears a light thud. Feet hitting the ground.

She grips the glass tightly in her hand.

She stares into the mirrors behind Lucifer’s bar and she sees white feathers.

Chloe’s hands shake as she sets the glass onto the bar. 

She turns slowly.

“Chloe,” he says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, another cliffhanger! I'm sorry. But the three final updates next week will make up for it. Thank you for reading!


	31. This is not a celestial courtroom drama!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: I am uploading two chapters today. Please be sure to read chapter 31 and then chapter 32!
> 
> As a little explainer, originally this was one chapter, but it ended up be double what a normal chapter would be, so I split it in two. I think the chapters really need to go together, so two updates back-to-back! I should be back on Wednesday with the final chapter, but if not Wednesday, then Friday.

Lucifer does his best to ignore Michael nagging him, but his voice is surprisingly hard to ignore. He’s been yapping the entire way, which is a small distraction to Lucifer’s nerves, but they pulse inside him. 

He’s not used to being nervous. Chloe makes him nervous sometimes, but it’s different. With her, his nerves are wrapped up in a thrill. When she touched his face, his _real_ face, and felt his nerves somersaulting in his stomach, but he also felt full of devotion and caring and love (although he only recognized that emotion later). But now, he’s just nervous. If this doesn’t work, then he heads back to Earth. He trusts Amenadiel to get it done, but he wants to finish this for Chloe.

* * *

Lucifer can feel time has passed substantially based on the heat wrapping around him. He’s used to heat, but the sticky, heavy air of the late summer is unmistakable in Los Angeles and he’d guess it has to be July or August. But the year is important, of course. He could’ve been gone years for all he knows.

He’s concerned about the heat, and the door open on his terrace, until he sees her.

He stops in his tracks, tucking his wings away. Chloe’s leaning against his bar, as still as a deer in headlights. Her back is facing him, her hair cascading longer than when he last saw her. So much time has passed and yet she’s here. He just stands there, watching her, waiting for her, until she finally moves. She turns to him and it’s a flood of emotions. He’d expected to return and change his clothes, figure out what day it is, and find her. He never planned for her to be directly in his path.

Lucifer can’t help but smile softly. He feels relieved that she’s okay. Someone needs to say something and he’s about to call her Detective until he changes his mind. “Chloe.”

She seems to release a breath, something she’s been holding for…who knows how long? She seems relieved and maybe happy. But also confused and…okay, maybe he can’t read her like he once could. Instead of making guesses, he walks closer to her, walking around his furniture.

“What’s the date?” he asks.

Chloe swallows. “It’s September 29th.”

“What year?”

She shakes her head, just staring at him. “2016.”

“Six months,” he says, feeling some relief. It’s a long stretch of time for humans, of course, but he hasn’t missed much. Or, perhaps, he’s missed a lot. He’d planned to be gone for only a few days, maybe, but of course everything became complicated fast. He’s now standing right before her, looking down at her, and everything feels a lot more complicated.

Chloe lifts one of her hands tentatively. He notices her palm is shaking a bit. He wants to take her palm between his hands and comfort her, but he doesn’t want to spook her. He allows her to touch his chest and he can almost feel her heat through his suit jacket.

Her eyes shift up to his. “I thought you might be dead.”

Lucifer closes his hand over hers. “No, Detective. I’m fine. Are you okay? Trixie?” He reaches forward to caress her cheek, planning to remove his hand if she seems uninterested. But she allows him.

“I’m…fine. Trixie’s good.” Chloe releases a small breath. “I don’t understand what happened.”

“I’ll tell you, everything. I just…” he runs his thumb along the corner of her mouth. He wants to kiss her. Wants to fall into bed with her. But he needs to be patient. He stops touching her because that’s certainly not helping. “I need a drink. Can I get you something?” He walks around her, heading to his bar.

If Chloe is put off by his abruptness, she doesn’t say anything. She walks over to the bar and takes a seat. He sets two glasses before her and then notices the one she’d already poured. He smiles and grabs that one. “Hardly a sip,” he comments.

Lucifer is full of nerves once again. He glances at her. He should just kiss her, but when he’d left, so much was uncertain. Perhaps she no longer loves him. She’s here, which confirms that she at least cares, but…still. He can’t imagine having expressed how he feels only to have her feel the opposite. In six months, she could’ve fallen in love with someone else. No, he can’t put his heart on the line if he’s no longer hers.

Her eyes drift to the glass. “Oh, um…I was about to leave. I’m driving so I didn’t want much.”

Lucifer slides her small pour to rest in front of her. For himself, he pours out three fingers of whiskey. He hasn’t had any in months. Lucifer lifts the glass to his lips and feels her eyes on him. She doesn’t move. He wonders if she’s even breathing. He sets down the glass and drinks more. He wonders if he can still get drunk with her around.

He doesn’t drink this glass as quickly. He holds the glass against the bar and studies her. There’s an awkwardness settling between them. He wants to ask her a million questions, but he also just wants to kiss her until the sun rises tomorrow, sets, and rises again. He wants to take comfort in her, in missing her so badly it hurts. He wants to answer the questions she must be dying to ask, but he also wants to make love to her slowly. He also hasn’t had sex since, well, her.

Lucifer isn’t sure how to break the tension in the room without making it worse.

He looks away for a moment, feeling uncomfortable and he sees a piece of paper on the bar. He reaches for it and like a lioness pouncing, Chloe’s hand slaps onto the paper. His eyes snap to hers. “Um…sorry,” she says, turning red and pulling back her hand. He wonders what the paper could say that would cause such a reaction. He recognizes her handwriting right away.

_Lucifer,_

_I texted you a few times, but I was worried. I’m not sure where you are, but I stopped by. I need to see you. Talk to you. Please come by my house. Or call me or text me. No hour is too late._

_I love you, Lucifer Morningstar._

_Love, Chloe_

Lucifer holds up the note, one she presumably wrote around the time he left with Michael and Amenadiel. “What’s wrong with me seeing this?”

Chloe’s standing now. She shrugs. “Nothing, really. It’s just…Linda and I have been working through a few things and that note is something I hate because I wrote it the night you disappeared, but I couldn’t throw it out all these months later. I wasn’t sure I’d see you again so I guess part of me is protective. I wanted to say so much more, but I figured I’d see you later that night.” She laughs humorlessly. “Actually, I didn’t sleep that night, sure that you’d come flying in and telling me everything was okay, only, you didn’t come back. I mean, you’re here _now_ , but for half a year I’ve just been wondering. Worrying. And…”

Lucifer sets down the letter as she babbles and he walks around the bar. He takes her upper arms as she trails off. “Detective, I am _so_ sorry for leaving without a word. I thought it’d be a couple of days, but, alas, Heaven time is so different.”

“Heaven?” she asks.

He runs his hands down her arms before releasing her. “Yes. I went to Heaven. Then Hell. Then back to Heaven. And now here.”

“I thought…I thought you couldn’t go back to Heaven.”

“I didn’t think I could until my wings returned. Sure, that gave me the ability to fly to Heaven, but it meant my dad would still need to allow me in. But with Michael pinned between Amenadiel and I, with stories of his manipulation, dear old Dad let us through.”

“You took Michael back to Heaven?” she asks. “After what he did?”

Lucifer motions to a bar stool, figuring they should both be sitting for such a long conversation. He grabs both of their drinks and while Chloe doesn’t drink hers, she keeps her hand wrapped tightly around the glass. He sits facing her, his knees tucked parallel to hers. “We didn’t take him to Heaven for him to return to his life; we took him there to face the consequences of what he did to you, to your family.”

* * *

The gates don’t open. Michael laughs. “You’ve come all this way, brother, and that’s the end of the road for you. Father will never—”

But then they do open.

Lucifer watches the glowing gates slowly open and only then does he see it: The Silver City. It’s changed since he’s left, practically unrecognizable. It’s larger, which makes sense after millions of lifetimes away. The city only appears once the gates are opened and Lucifer watches as a thriving, glittering city stretches out before him. Honestly, it reminds him a little of L.A., but, seemingly, much less fun.

“Ready?” Amenadiel asks.

Lucifer knows Amenadiel means him, so he nods, even though no one is looking at him and says, “I’m ready.”

They fly above the city with Michael between them. Michael doesn’t bother unfurling his wings; he’s just carried like a boulder between them. No one pays archangels much mind, but Lucifer can’t help looking down and watching souls milling about. He recognizes a few faces—relatives, as it were—but again, they’re busy and it’s been a long time. Perhaps he’s been forgotten.

It feels wrong to fly above The Silver City as if he wasn’t guarding the underworld just five short years ago. But it isn’t wrong. He was brought to life here. He lived years here before being cast out. This is his home, but no place has felt further from home.

They begin to dip down at they reach the great Keep in the middle of the city. The Throne of God and all that. Lucifer has never known Father to _actually_ spend time near his throne—usually opting to flying around invisibly, possibly considering his omniscientness—but there doesn’t seem a better place to request a meeting. If that’s what they’re doing. The gates opened, which means their father must know Lucifer’s here and possibly be…open to meeting with him.

Beyond the Keep’s doors, they can no longer fly and the magical handcuffs fall from Michael’s wrists. Lucifer tightens his hold on his brother and looks to Amenadiel.

“No magic beyond the walls, except for Father’s.”

The Keep seems…empty. Abandoned. The last time Lucifer visited his father’s home, it wasn’t much more than a tower, but now he’s gone overboard. The ceiling in the entrance is possibly fifty feet tall, the walls made of some white, reflective stone, shining light in every direction. _My light_ , Lucifer thinks bitterly. If not for him, there would be no light.

“You’re correct, Samael,” a voice says.

The walls and floors vibrate.

“I…”

“Come, sons. We have much to discuss.”

It’s as if Lucifer is being led by a force—as are his brothers—so they follow the force. He knows its his father and Lucifer tries to keep his thoughts blank, since his father can obviously read them, but it’s hard to think of nothing when his mind is reeling with everything.

The three of them enter an unassuming room. An old wooden table, some chairs, and windows on each side letting in the morning light. It’s seemingly always morning in The Silver City. Michael is practically ripped from their hands and lands in one of the chairs. He struggles to move, but their father is holding him down with whatever ability he possesses to physically move and restrain. Lucifer and Amenadiel share a look.

“Sit, sons,” God says as he appears.

Lucifer looks to his father, a sight unseen in millennia, and he feels every emotion boiling beneath his skin.

* * *

“You saw…God?” Chloe asks.

“Yes.”

“What does he look like?”

Lucifer chuckles softly. “That’s a bit beyond the point, Detective.” He swallows a mouthful of liquor. “But I understand your curiosity. He looks…well, however he chooses. He’s formless, unconstrained by a human body. He chooses when he wants to _appear_ human. When we saw him this time, he looked…dignified. Poised. And a bit like Amenadiel,” he smiles and looks down at his glass.

“So, he met with you,” she says, turning the conversation back to the point.

“He did.”

She leans back a little and he can see she’s thinking. Her thumb worries the top of her glass and she looks…stunning. Not just beautiful—which of course she is—but different in some way. Perhaps more confident or comfortable. He has a flash of that day, the day he left, and her tear-stricken face. Her promising to return to him and he can only imagine how it’s felt to return to this place and find it empty day after day.

Lucifer sighs. “Detective, I…I’m sorry.”

Chloe meets his gaze. She’s offering to hear him out.

“Chloe,” he says softly, “I never planned on being gone for so long.”

She lifts the glass to her lips finally and swallows the whiskey in one gulp. She makes a face. “I don’t have much of a taste for it any longer,” she explains. She wipes the corner of her mouth with her thumb. When she looks at him again, she simply asks, “Did you get done what needed to be done with Michael?”

He relaxes some. “We did.”

“What happened?”

“It was a long process. Months of conversations. Michael denying and Amenadiel and I explaining. Our father can read thoughts, but Michael is a convincing liar and he’s been by Father’s side for centuries. Father trusted him. Amenadiel and I had to work hard. Call witnesses. It was like a trial that lasts forever, essentially.”

“What witnesses did you call?”

He stands with a sigh to pour another glass. “Azrael,” he says over his shoulder. “Gabriel. A few other siblings who Michael had worked with, but the clincher was Zachriel.”

“Zachriel was working with Michael?”

“Not completely.”

* * *

It’s been a long time. Lucifer leans back in his chair and looks up to the ceiling. He’s aggravated but remains quiet. It’s been days, weeks, months, years of conversations and it feels like they’re all walking in circles. Lucifer has learned his lesson to keep his mouth shut because dear old Dad seems reluctant to believe him, so Lucifer leaves Amenadiel to answer most of the questions. 

But with Zachriel standing before them, it’s hard to keep his mouth shut.

“Explain it again,” God commands.

Zachriel seems uninterested, but explains, “Michael approached me after returning to The Silver City after resurrecting Chloe Decker. He told me Lucifer had obstructed his powers, keeping him from being able to resurrect Chloe Decker. He told me to not offer my services to Chloe Decker or Lucifer, but then Amenadiel visited and requested the opposite. I was suspicious of Michael’s motivations, so I agreed to meet with Lucifer and Chloe Decker. Despite what Michael requested, I offered to adjust Chloe Decker’s memories, but she denied my help. Last I heard regarding Michael, he’d been speaking to Gabriel and Uriel, but I was not privy to those conversations, so I cannot speak to them.”

Lucifer sighs and looks to his father. He steeples his fingers and presses his mouth to where they touch at the top. Gabriel and Uriel’s answers were similar, but still, his father waits. His patience is running out and something is eating away at him.

“Can I ask a question?” he asks, more politely than he normally would.

His father’s eyes cut to him. He feels His stare all over and it’s nearly painful. “Fine,” He agrees after some time.

Lucifer turns to Zachriel. “Would you have helped if Michael hadn’t inserted himself into the situation?”

Another pause before Zachriel answers, “Yes.”

He’s flooded with relief. “Chloe…” he begins and just saying her name makes him ache for her. But he can’t focus on her right now. “She’s been able to right some of her problems, but I still worry about lingering questions surrounding her death. Would you be willing to help without adjusting her memories or those of her friends and family?”

It seems like a good solution. If Zachriel can adjust her co-workers, anyone who read her obituary in the newspaper, the medical staff and coroner and whoever else worked on her following her death, it could lessen any future problems.

“I’ll consider it. We shall speak after this…hearing.”

Another moment before God says, “You’re dismissed, Zachriel.” He turns to His other sons. “I’ll need some time with this.” And then disappeared.

Lucifer pushes back roughly from the table. “I need to send word to the Detective.”

Amenadiel stands, too. “It’ll be over soon.”

“Not soon enough,” Lucifer grumbles. “I’ll send Gabriel. He can tell Chloe where I am.”

Amenadiel is quick to shake his head. “What if something happens and Gabriel becomes stuck on Earth? He’s part of our case. We need him.”

“This is _not_ a celestial courtroom drama! I just left, brother,” he says rather hopelessly.

His brother moves around the table, ignoring Michael, as he squeezes Lucifer’s shoulder. “Just be patient, brother. We need you here, too. Chloe isn’t going anywhere. She’s safe now.”

“We don’t know that.”

“Have a little faith.”

Lucifer laughs humorlessly. “I haven’t had faith since the day I was expelled from this place.”

“But you’re back now.”

* * *

Lucifer now stands near his piano and Chloe looks down into her empty glass. She doesn’t want anything else to drink, but it’d be nice to have a distraction. She doesn’t ask for anything, though. She sets the glass on the bar top. She doesn’t think about Amenadiel keeping Lucifer from communicating with her because she does believe he thought it’s what was best.

There’s one part of Lucifer’s story that keeps bothering her and she knows she can’t allow him to get to the end without an explanation. “You talk about The Silver City as if it’s some beautiful place where people are happy. I didn’t experience that.”

“Oh,” he says softly. He slides his hands into his pockets as he rolls back his shoulders. “It’s because you were in purgatory.”

“I…what?”

“Michael intercepted Azrael as she delivered you to the gates. He offered to finish the job so he could quote ‘see how her job differed from his.’ She thought it was odd and checked on you, found you missing from Heaven, which is when Michael made up the lie about the miscommunication. He’d hidden you in purgatory. He won’t admit it, but I suspect he wanted to hold you there for longer. See how long he could go without returning you to your body.”

“But why?” she asks through a gasp.

Lucifer shrugs. “He was curious.”

Chloe is overwhelmed. It’s her turn to stand. “I need air,” she says and blows past him to the terrace. The night is hot and sticky, but it’s better than being inside. She stares down at the twinkling city below, trying to work through all the lies and deceit. She was toyed with for months. She was hurt and lost and for what?

Lucifer joins her on the terrace, leaning into the railing. His eyes are on her—something she prayed for—but she’s too confused to focus. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“No.”

“Would you like me to stop telling you the story?”

She closes her eyes. “No. Just…tell it quicker. I can’t…Lucifer,” she looks at him, “I can’t hear this right now.”

“I’m sorry,” he says sincerely and she watches his hand moves towards her on the railing. He looks like he might stop, but then he doesn’t. He covers her hand with his. 

“Father returned days later and all the while, Michael nearly drove me insane.”

“That’s not quick,” she says, her throat thick with emotion. He squeezes her hand and she doesn’t move away from him.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes again. “Dear old Dad ruled against Michael. We won.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: I am uploading two chapters today. Please be sure to read chapter 31 and then chapter 32!
> 
> Thank you for reading and commenting!


	32. Whatever you desire, Detective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: I am uploading two chapters today. Please be sure to read chapter 31 and then chapter 32!
> 
> Thank you again for your unwavering support. I truly appreciate you all!

She looks away, looks off into his penthouse. He can’t believe she’s here—that he could reach out and touch her. It’s been a long time for her, but it’s been nearly forever for him. He’s selfish, wanting to hold her instead of giving her the answers she deserves. They have plenty of time for answers, but the need to kiss her is swelling in his chest. 

“What does that mean?” she asks.

“Michael was found guilty, as it were. Father saw through him and he deserved punishment for what he did to you.” He’s quiet for a moment, trying not to scare her off, but adds for clarity, “Hell needs a warden.” Lucifer looks at her. “I was afraid I’d be dragged back there once my wings returned, afraid I’d be forced to leave you. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to remove my wings.”

“But you didn’t remove them.”

Lucifer shakes his head. “No, I didn’t and I won’t. I learned a lot in The Silver City. I learned that we were correct: the gift isn’t about ownership. My father wanted someone to truly know me, someone I could become close to, in whatever iteration we agreed upon. I learned you not being able to sleep, you drinking more, getting drunk myself, those were all because of the tether. Most importantly, I learned my wings returned because of us. Because I put my trust in you and received trust in return. Father wasn’t trying to manipulate me.”

* * *

Lucifer stands outside the Keep, surprised to hear his dad’s words as He pours out the truth. Lucifer wants to believe everything He’s saying, but after distrusting Him for so long, he’s finding it hard to believe Chloe, his wings, every moment of happiness, isn’t some manipulation from his father.

“I know you don’t believe me and I understand it might take some time, and we have more of it than anything else, including the planet, but for your peace of mind, I wanted you to know.”

“Why gift me anything? That’s…unlike you.”

God regards His son. “I created you,” He says simply. “Much like Michael, I was curious about a response. For Michael, he wanted to know how a human might respond to weeks or months spent in purgatory, only to be returned to their previous body. For me, I was curious how far my rules might be pushed. I needed to learn how to correctly create successful humans. However well-intentioned I was, I shouldn’t have tested you, Samael.”

Lucifer’s hands turn to fists. He doesn’t correct his name. “What are you saying?”

“I created the Heaven and Earth. I created you and all the creatures which have lived, currently live, or will live. If you or anyone else acts out, it’s because I allowed it.” 

Lucifer feels His father’s words sink in. “So you’re saying…”

“I’m sorry,” God says. “After watching you for eons, I thought someone who truly saw you might help you feel…connected to a family again. To a place.”

Lucifer dreams of Chloe. She feels like home. He understands her loving him has given him exactly what his father planned for. Still, it’s hard for Lucifer to feel too happy. He releases his clenched fist. He can’t forgive Him, but he can give Him an inch. “Thank you, for Chloe. Can I assume she’s safe?”

“I’ve been watching over her. She’s safe.”

“Thank you,” he says again, even surprising himself.

* * *

Chloe turns to him now. “But what about Michael?” she asks. “He’s just the warden of Hell now?”

“Yes. I got off topic. I brokered a deal. Michael will be the warden in my place as long as you are alive. When Azrael comes for you, I’ll return to Hell for some time, but I promised I’ll no longer guard Hell alone. Although, I doubt I’ll want to spend much time on Earth without you.”

Chloe looks back at him and he gives her a soft smile. They’ve never discussed what their future might look like, but she could tell when they stood beside her grave, when she told him she wouldn’t want to be resurrected again, that the idea of losing her was unacceptable. She can read the pain he’s trying to mask with a smile. It’s the pain she’s felt for months. Not just of missing him and worrying about him, but not knowing where they stand. She feels all-consumed with her love for him, but maybe the tether was the other thing keeping him in love with her. 

During her thoughtful pause, he asks, “What happened to you? After you left with Amenadiel.”

She smiles slightly. It’s like her life has flipped—instead of worrying about her relationship with Trixie, she’s now worried about her relationship with Lucifer. But she pushes those worries to the side for a moment. “It worked. Cutting the tether…when I saw Trixie…” her smile grows and the ache inside her lessens. “It was like nothing ever happened. I hugged her and held her and she knew. It’s been normal since then. Better than normal.”

“I’m so glad, Detective.”

“Lucifer, I…” she begins apprehensively. He hesitates before reaching forward, taking her hand, offering a touch of comfort. She folds her hand over his and tries to not read too much into it. “When the tether was cut, I felt like a hole opened up inside me, but it wasn’t what I thought. I didn’t…my feelings for you…” she looks away.

He reaches beneath her chin, lifting her head up until their eyes meet. He’s terrified to tell her the truth, but she seems hopeful. He can’t wonder any longer, so he expresses, “I think what you’re trying to say is you still loved me even with the tether cut.”

She nods.

“Chloe,” he sighs, “I felt the same.”

“You did?” A rush of relief.

“Still do.” He slides a little closer to her. “I want to give you every detail of my time away, but if I don’t kiss you, I might implode, Detective. You’ll be cleaning up Devil off the walls for weeks.”

She laughs softly and leans in a little closer. “That’s not really a good way to set the mood.”

Lucifer motions to her moving closer. “It appears to be working.”

“Just kiss me.”

Lucifer takes her face in his hands and he kisses her. He feels himself erupt with desire for her, his fingers threading through her hair and his tongue rediscovering hers. Chloe presses into him as he takes her by the waist, being sure to kiss her thoroughly, pouring lifetimes of desire for her into their kiss. She moans against his lips and the sound thrills him. Lucifer’s hand slides down over her butt, holding her tightly against him.

Chloe’s hands slide along his shoulders to the back of his neck, cradling his head as she kisses him back with as much enthusiasm as either of them can stan. He can’t imagine a more perfect moment.

He breaks away, just long enough to look into her blue eyes and he knows neither of them can wait. He kisses her again, mindful of the terrace furniture as he walks with her towards his bedroom. Her fingers reach between them, undoing the buttons of his vest as he shimmies out of his suit jacket. Her warm hands push the vest away and he assists before she begins on his shirt buttons. Lucifer pulls at her top, lifting it up, his fingers glancing her skin as he relieves her of her shirt.

Chloe drops her shirt to the ground and reaches behind to undo her bra. They’ve stopped kissing for a moment and Lucifer feels himself stirring as he looks down at her. He removes his shirt and leaves it in the pile with hers. He pulls her to him, feeling her bare chest against his, her nipples hard on his skin. He groans and leans in to kiss her neck. She rolls her head back, giving him more access. Chloe’s hand runs along the front of his pants and he groans again.

Lucifer guides her up the stairs. They stand at the foot of his bed and he smirks at her as he unbuttons and unzips her pants and she does the same for him. Any nerves he had are gone. Next, he takes her underwear by the waist and leans closer to her, moving slowly now. His lips are hovering over hers. “I missed you,” he tells her as he removes the last stitch of her clothes.

She returns the favor, removing his boxer briefs. “Don’t leave me again, okay?”

Lucifer cups the back of her neck in his hand. “I will never leave you again. I promise you, Chloe.”

They kiss and tumble into the bed together. Lucifer climbs over her as she presses back, lifting her hips towards him. Lucifer is definitely ready, but he reaches down between her legs to touch her, make sure she’s ready, and he finds her slick with desire. There’s no time for foreplay. He sinks into her slowly, remembering how she needed to adjust their first time together. She hooks her legs around his back and shivers.

Lucifer leans down, peppering her cheeks and lips with kisses. “I’m good,” she tells him before he even needs to ask. He thrusts slowly into her and he realizes he’s never known anything more heavenly than moments with Chloe. A lifetime in The Silver City pales in comparison to this right here. His fingers outline her body as he watches the pleasure on her face. He’s luckier than anyone living or dead because she still loves him.

Chloe reaches for him, pulling him in for a searing kiss. They can barely focus on the kiss; so much is going on at once. Lucifer closes his eyes tightly, just feeling her, listening to the sounds she makes as they make love. He wants to remember this moment forever.

* * *

She sleeps, but not for very long. Lucifer lies on his side watching her. She’s curled in a ball, her body turned towards him. He wants to move the hair out of her face, but he doesn’t dare wake her. 

As she sleeps, he finds his phone next to the bed, fully charged, which leads him to believe Chloe has been taking care of it. It’s a small gesture, but it warms him that she’d been planning for his return. Lucifer has no idea if Maze even misses him, but he texts her anyway. He knows a text is hardly suitable, but it’ll give her some relief to know he’s back. He also texts Dr. Linda. Chloe mentioned having sessions with Linda, so he assumes she’s up to date on his time away.

Chloe shifts positions, stretching one of her legs out. She sighs. Lucifer glances at her and meets her blue eyes. He tosses his phone to the side. 

“How long was I asleep?”

“Less than thirty minutes,” he tells her. He slides along the bed and infiltrates her space. Chloe’s arm wraps around him and she presses a firm hand on his back. “You know you snore.”

She laughs. “I do. I can’t believe you never noticed before.”

“I don’t believe you snored before. It’s strangely adorable.” Lucifer holds her to his chest. He feels the phone vibrate on the bed behind him. “I should warn you, I text Maze and Linda and let them know I’m back. Knowing Maze’s track record, she might just bust in here.”

Chloe sighs and stretches again. Lucifer takes the moment to lean in, kissing along her stomach just below her breasts. She runs her fingers through his hair. “I need to call Dan. He’s with Trixie and he’s expecting me back tonight. Trixie’s expecting me, too.”

“Then we’ll go to your home for the night.”

“You’ll stay with me?” she asks.

“I promised I wouldn’t leave.”

“I meant more like don’t leave the planet without telling me, but I won’t complain about spending the whole night with you.” Chloe runs her fingers along his cheeks, suddenly more serious than a moment ago. “Why didn’t you tell me, Lucifer? Why didn’t you come back, just for a moment, to tell me?”

He sighs. He feels pained for what he put her through. “I wanted to, but I couldn’t leave once we started. I wanted so badly to return to you. I _promise_ , Detective. I didn’t realize how much time had passed. I’m sorry for making you wait, but I…I appreciate you waiting for me.”

“You’re worth the wait.”

Chloe turns her head to the side, pressing her ear to his chest. Lucifer’s preparing to say something romantic and sincere when he hears the elevator door open. He sighs. “We’re no longer alone.” He sits up and presses a kiss to the top of Chloe’s head. “Let me say hello before Maze kills me.”

Lucifer hops out of bed and pulls on his boxer briefs before Maze rushes into the room. Chloe hides beneath the covers once again. Maze stares at Lucifer wide-eyed. She holds up her phone. “A fucking _text_ , Lucifer?”

“I told you it was just a placeholder! That I would come see you.”

“It’s been fifteen minutes. I waited as long as I could.” Maze looks him up and down, advancing slowly on him. “Are you okay?” she asks, probably with more sincerity than she had planned.

“I’m fine. It’s a very long story of which Chloe has already had to endure, but I will tell you.”

Maze looks over at Chloe, who is still hiding. “Thanks for telling me, Decker.”

“I’m naked, Maze. Do we really need to do this now?” Maze says nothing and Chloe sighs beneath the blanket. She pulls it back so her face is exposed. “I’m sorry, Maze. Everything happened really fast. He just showed up.”

“It’s true. Chloe had no knowledge I’d be arriving. _I_ had no knowledge.”

Maze sighs. “Fine, but you better not forget about me.”

“Mazikeen,” Lucifer says softly. He walks over to her. He smiles at her and then leans in to kiss her forehead. “I could never.” He hugs her and she holds him fiercely. Lucifer closes his eyes, feeling the comfort of her arms around him. When he opens his eyes, Chloe is watching them and once again, he feels so fulfilled.

* * *

It’s late when they reach Chloe’s home, but Dan doesn’t complain. He stares at Lucifer for a moment too long. “You’re back,” he says simply.

“Daniel,” Lucifer says with another grin. Even the sight of Dan makes him happy.

“H-hey man. Good to see you.” Lucifer believes Dan is actually being sincere.

“You as well, Daniel.”

Lucifer looks around. He’s not sure why he wants to see Trixie, but after spending so long trying to mend the relationship between Chloe and her daughter, Lucifer would like to see if that effort paid off. He’d never admit that he, perhaps, missed the child.

Dan turns to Chloe, still sneaking glances at Lucifer. “She’s asleep, but she asked that you wake her up when you got home. I tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted. Also, she ate two cupcakes. I couldn’t stop her. We’re raising a monster.”

Chloe laughs easily, Lucifer notices. “I figured that fourth cupcake was a mistake. It’s okay.” She glances at her watch. “I’m sorry we’re so late. Lucifer was…a surprise.” Her cheeks only flush a little. Lucifer smiles, sliding his hands into his pockets. “You can stay, if you like.”

Dan looks between the two of them. “Uh, no. I’m good. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

Chloe locks the door behind Dan and walks towards Lucifer. She takes his hand. “Come on, she’ll be happy to see you.”

Inside Trixie’s room, she sleeps soundly. Lucifer follows Chloe as she reaches the bed and sits down. She releases Lucifer’s hand so she can reach out and stroke Trixie’s hair. Chloe leans in and says something quietly to her daughter and her eyes open slowly. The room is still dark, but even in the darkness, she finds Lucifer and her face lights up.

It’s strange feeling a fondness for this child, for any child, really. Lucifer doesn’t enjoy the company of children, like any sane adult, but something about Trixie draws him in. “Hello, small child,” he says.

Trixie scrambles from the bed and practically launches herself at him. Lucifer catches her around her middle, holding her to his chest. “Well, so far this is my best reunion.”

Chloe laughs, standing beside the two of them. 

Trixie leans back in his arms, but he doesn’t dare let her go. “Where were you? Mommy was sad.”

He feels Chloe’s hand press softly against the base of his spine. He glances at her. “I know your mommy was sad,” he says as he looks at Chloe. “I won’t do anything to make her sad again.” He looks back to Trixie. “Or, at the very least, I’ll do my best to always keep her happy. Am I worthy? Or shall we find another boyfriend for your mother?”

Trixie smiles and Lucifer notices her missing teeth have been replaced with shiny new adult teeth. “You can stay,” she agrees.

“Oh good. What a relief.”

Trixie is too amped up on sugar and Lucifer to go back to sleep, so Chloe allows her to spend time with them on the couch. She won’t leave Lucifer alone, sitting beside him and asking him dozens of questions. Chloe sits on the other end of the couch, her arm stretching across the back, alongside Lucifer’s, so they can hold each other’s upper arm. Lucifer drags his thumb across her shirt, wishing he could feel her bare skin again, but he’s trying to be patient.

Eventually, Trixie tuckers herself out and she chooses to lean against Lucifer, her head against his chest. He looks down at her and grins. “I’ll put her to bed,” Chloe offers.

“No,” he says. “Let’s give her a few minutes.”

Chloe moves a little closer, Trixie warm and sleepy between them. “You called yourself my boyfriend. I thought you detested the label.”

“I’m certainly not a boy, but manfriend just sounded…wrong.”

She laughs. 

Lucifer reaches over, feeling a wave of love for her. He cups her cheeks in his hand. “I love you, you know that, right?”

She nods slowly, her eyes warm and open. “I love you so much.”

“I’d kiss you, but the child,” Lucifer motions to Trixie.

“Save it. Give me something to look forward to.”

“Whatever you desire, Detective.”

Eventually, Chloe falls asleep on the couch, her hand still on Lucifer’s arm. Trixie sleeps against him, seemingly just as comfortable as she would be in her bed. Lucifer can’t imagine moving either of them, so he tips his head back and closes his eyes. He doesn’t try to speak to his father because he knows he’s probably not listening, but Lucifer does just pray out a simple _Thank you_ to whoever might be listening.


	33. Give them Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I started writing this final part, I realized the story didn't really need another chapter, but I decided to write it anyway. A look into the future. A time for our favorite couple to decide what kind of future they want. This is all fluff, but I hope you enjoy.

Lucifer walks from the kitchen to the expansive living room with a beautiful view of the rolling hills east of the property. The pool backs up to the base of one of the hills, completely secluded. The entire home is secluded, tucked away and quiet. He can’t even hear the ocean, but he can see a swath of blue water from the from windows.

He hears voices from the front of the house. Lucifer walks casually with his hands in his pockets, rejoining Chloe and Evelyn, their realtor. “I can give you some time to consider,” she says pleasantly, using the same tactic each time.

“Thank you,” Lucifer says, taking his spot beside Chloe.

With Evelyn now standing on the driveway, energetically typing into her phone, Lucifer turns to Chloe. “What do you think?”

She looks around. “It’s beautiful.”

“Of course it’s beautiful,” he smirks at her. “But do you like it?”

Chloe has looked kindly on all the houses they’ve looked at, and while yes, they’ve been beautiful, none of them have been perfect. Lucifer knows this one isn’t perfect, but he waits for her to say it; she’s being too nice. Chloe crosses her arms over her chest. “The air conditioning is so cold,” she says and he laughs a little. “Don’t laugh! You can’t be here all day as my personal blanket.”

Lucifer walks up to her now, standing behind her, and wraps his arms strategically around her so he covers her bare arms. “Better?” She leans back into him. “I’m sure the air conditioning is adjustable, darling.” His lips are close to her ear. “Do you like the home or not?”

Her hands wrap around his upper arms, holding him against her. She shivers, but Lucifer hopes it’s from his proximity, not the temperature. Chloe stares out the back window, to the same hills, and sighs. “Evelyn is going to hate us…”

He chuckles. “Why don’t you like it?”

“It’s not close enough to the beach.”

“Precisely.”

Evelyn doesn’t hate them, but her tight smile tells Lucifer all he needs to know. He holds the car door open for Chloe before taking to his own side. Evelyn drives away in her Tesla without waiting for them. Lucifer starts the engine. “Perhaps it’s time for a new realtor.”

“Really?”

“We’ve been looking for homes for three months on basically an unlimited budget. It shouldn’t be so difficult.”

They idle in the driveway of a home that’s not theirs. “Maybe you’re right. We can change a bad kitchen or put in a pool at most places, but we can’t change a location and I really want to be by the beach for Trixie.”

Lucifer reaches over to take her hand. “Then we’ll find a home by the beach.” He kisses her palm. “An easy fix.”

“Our budget is _not_ unlimited.”

He returns her hand to her lap in order to put the car in reverse. He looks over his shoulder as he pulls from the driveway and says, “I don’t know why you’re so squeamish about the money, Detective. I’ve told you a dozen times, I’ll show you my statements.”

“Lucifer, I make five figures. I don’t want to see your billions on some statement.” She rolls her eyes, which he catches right as he pulls onto the quiet street.

“ _Our_ billions.”

Her eyes cut to him. “It’s not actually billions, right?”

Lucifer just smirks. “Would you like me to try my hand at lying?”

“No,” she grumbles.

“Then I’ll just stay quiet.”

Lucifer doesn’t say another word, but instead takes her hand again. She’s tactile, he’s learned, offering her touch when he needs it or when she needs it. Lucifer has grown accustom to touching her, offering her comfort through a hand or a kiss. He knows the money is something she’s not comfortable with, but as they move forward together, she’ll have to adjust. He has money and he wants to spend it on her.

Chloe squeezes his hand, resting it with hers in her lap. She drags her thumb along the back of his hand. In her other hand, she checks her phone. “A new case?” he asks, hopeful.

“No, sorry. But you can just drop me off. I know paperwork makes your eyes cross.”

“I’d like to see Miss Lopez. And spend time with you, of course.”

“Good save.”

They drive from the hills to the precinct. Lucifer parks in his assigned spot and the two of them ride the elevator quietly. It’s the good kind of quiet. At one point, Lucifer glances over at Chloe and a feeling overwhelms him. He leans in and briefly brushes her lips with his. They remain professional within the walls of the precinct, so a quiet moment in the elevator is theirs for the taking. As he pulls away, he brushes her jaw with his thumb and he can feel his love for her filling him. Lucifer never thought he’d understand love like this.

The moment passes as they enter the precinct. Chloe walks to her desk and Lucifer walks over to Ella’s lab. She gives him a small smile, which he returns, before they part. Lucifer enters the lab and Ella looks up, protective glasses covering her eyes. “Hey!” she smiles wide.

“Miss Lopez,” he says easily, sliding his hands into his pockets. 

“I didn’t expect you today. I thought you were busy.”

“Less busy than I had hoped. Chloe and I looked at a house, but it wasn’t a winner.”

“Oh, that sucks. You’ll find the perfect house, buddy.” She removes her gloves and then her glasses, turning her full attention to him. Lucifer appreciates how Ella gives people her full attention. She leans against the central examination table and regards him. “I should put you guys in touch with my friend Olivia. She’s a damn good realtor. Makes enough money for these huge family vacations every year. They just went on a cruise to Antarctica.”

Lucifer raises his eyebrows. “That sounds promising.” He picks at the table with his pinky nail.

“I think you’d like her, too. She’s…chill.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Ella crosses the room. “You’re distracted.”

“What?”

“You’re distracted,” she repeats. “What’s up?”

Lucifer glances out the windows of Ella’s lab and watches as Chloe crosses the precinct with a folder in hand. She greets one of her fellow officers with a smile and what appears to be a hello. She looks radiant, which is such an improvement after her constant worrying on whether she’d ever have this part of her life back. Zachriel had offered to adjust memories should Chloe be interested, but she decided against it. Lucifer knows there’s still a few of her colleagues who question her story, but she’s been working through it.

He watches her set the folder down on Levy’s desk. He says something and she nods. It’s small moments like this, when he observes her without her knowing, that he loves. 

Ella snaps her fingers in front of his face, affectively dragging him back into the room. “ _What_ is going on?” she asks. “You’re looking at Chloe like you’ve never seen her before.”

“I’m going to marry her.”

“What?!”

Lucifer refocuses on Ella. He realizes what he’s said out loud, but he’s just as sure as he was the second the words tumbled out of his mouth. He smiles. “Shh, Miss Lopez,” he says, noticing that her ‘what’ was louder than he’d expected and now Chloe is looking their way. He turns his back to her, to cover Ella from her view. “I just realized it and I’d like the Detective to remain in the dark. Isn’t that how these things are supposed to go?”

“Yes,” Ella says, her voice an octave higher than usual. “Oh my god. How are you going to do it?”

“I haven’t a clue,” he says honestly. “I’ll remind you I just decided it.” He rests one hand on his stomach. He’ll need to make a plan. A plan is expected. Something romantic. A moment for him to pour out his heart to her. Candles. Champagne. “I need a ring,” he realizes. “I should watch some of those romantic movies. Rom-coms,” he says. “Aren’t there proposals in movies like that?”

Ella reaches forward to take his forearms in her hands. “Okay, look. You and Chloe aren’t some stupid rom-com. You don’t need to rush this.”

He nods, understanding but feeling the desire to propose stronger and stronger as the moments pass. “You’re right. I need to plan something good enough for her.”

“Man, you two are so cute.”

“Miss Lopez…” Lucifer says, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Fine, fine!” she says, raising her hands. She peeks around Lucifer’s arm and masks the joy on her face. “Chloe is walking this way. Act normal.” The door opens and Chloe looks between Lucifer and Ella, a slight smile on her face. “Hi Decker!” Ella says a bit too loudly.

Lucifer winces.

“What is going on in here?” Chloe asks. She walks further into the room. When Lucifer turns his attention to Chloe, she’s already looking at him.

He fully turns to her now, ready to make an excuse, but he can’t lie. Ella steps in. “Sorry, Chloe. Lucifer just told me that you guys didn’t put an offer on the house in the Hills and I saw it online and it was so beautiful. I thought it was the one.”

Chloe narrows her eyes. “You’re lying.”

“No we’re not.”

“ _You’re_ lying,” Chloe says pointedly to Ella. “But I’m not sure why.” She looks to Lucifer and he knows if she asks for the truth, he’ll give it to her. “I’m going to give you both the benefit of the doubt and hope you’re not plotting something. But please remember I hate surprises.”

Lucifer feels relieved. He reaches for her hand, ignoring the rules they’ve put in place for themselves. She takes a few steps closer and entangles her fingers with his. “I promise we’re not plotting anything. We were just…thinking out loud.”

“Mm-hmm. Very vague of you.”

Ella sighs. “You two really are cute as heck. You’re making moon eyes at each other!”

Chloe looks away with a smile on her lips. She detangles her fingers. “Yes, well, I do have work to get back to. I’ll leave you guys to it.” She turns to leave and stops before saying, “Please no parties or anything, okay?” Her birthday is around the corner. “Just a tribe night at Lux is all I need.” She’s practically pleading to Ella.

To her credit, Ella puts out that fire. “We are absolutely not planning anything for your birthday. We know the rules. Lucifer has been very clear.”

Once again, she’s grinning at him. “Thank you. I’ll…bye.”

After Chloe leaves, Lucifer notices she’s making a concerted effort not to glance their way.

Ella shakes her head. “You might need to rush this proposal.”

“I believe you’re right, Miss Lopez.”

* * *

Chloe is on edge. She believes Lucifer and Ella aren’t plotting anything, but it doesn’t help that Lucifer continues whispering with Ella for over an hour more. Chloe tries to stay busy—at the very least look busy—but she can’t focus. She wishes she’d never even walked into that room because now she knows she’s missing something.

Lucifer crosses the precinct right in the middle of Chloe actually doing work. He leans against her desk right beside her arm. She looks up at him. “Are you angry with me?” he asks.

“No,” she admits. “I just…” She sighs and leans back. “You guys were talking about me, right?”

“All good things, Detective, I promise. But, since it’ll make you feel better, I’ll tell you everything tonight. I have Linda now, but I don’t want you to go to bed worried.”

Chloe feels relief. “Thank you. I don’t want to ruin anything, but it’s driving me crazy not knowing.”

“You truly hate surprises.”

“I do.”

“Then none of that.”

Lucifer looks around the precinct for a moment before ducking his head and stealing a kiss. Chloe would normally pull away quickly, yell at him for breaking the rules, but she leans into the kiss. All her tension melts away. He’s the one to pull away, but he does it reluctantly. “Mm.” He captures her graze and holds on. “You’ve bewitched me, Detective. Alas, I must go before you tempt me too much.”

He stands from her desk before hesitating. “Would you like me to pick up your offspring? Her school is on my way back from Linda’s.”

“Really?”

“It’s not like I haven’t before.”

“It’s not that. It’s just…” Chloe stares at Lucifer. She knows his past and knows what he’s portrayed to be, but she’s never felt anything but complete trust in him. She loves him even more when he offers to make her day easier. “Yes. That would be amazing. I’m always late and her teacher keeps offering to help me set an alarm in my phone so I won’t forget, which is patronizing.”

Lucifer seems amused by her. “Then let me shock the woman by arriving right on time. No need for alarms when you have the Devil on your side.”

“Lucifer,” she complains when he says the Devil bit a little too loud to be inconspicuous. 

“On my way, Detective. I’ll hang out with your child until you’re off work. I should visit Lux tonight, but I’ll stay with you after.”

Chloe nods, looking forward to the day they live under one roof. “It’s a date.”

After Lucifer leaves, Chloe tries to focus on work, but as the day is ending, she doesn’t want to start anything new. She glances a few times over at Ella’s lab, thinking she can get the truth out of Ella sooner than waiting for tonight, but she upholds Lucifer’s promise to tell her everything. She’s not usually so paranoid, but lately she and Lucifer have been sharing these long, intense stares and she can just see the love in his eyes and feel her love for him pouring from her skin and just thinks maybe there’s a bigger commitment for them to consider than a new house.

Ella interrupts her thoughts about a new house by asking, “Is Lucifer going to get rid of his penthouse?”

“What? No. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I just thought with you guys looking for a house…”

Chloe shakes her head. “He loves his penthouse. I love his penthouse. We’re just looking for something more permanent for when I have Trixie, otherwise, we’ll be spending our time at his place.” Ella nods thoughtfully. Chloe leans forward, about to ask Ella for details on her conversation with Lucifer, but then she stops herself. _He promised_ , she reminds herself. Chloe stands, the clock on her computer telling her it’s time to go. “I should get going.”

“I’ll walk with you.”

Chloe gathers her things and they walk to the elevator together. “So, I’m thinking about taking a vacation,” Ella says.

“Where?”

“An island somewhere. But not the Caribbean. Maybe Fiji.”

“Fiji. That’d be quite the vacation.”

The distraction works, which is exactly what this is. Ella doesn’t take vacations, but she’s trying to take Chloe’s mind somewhere else. Hot beaches, beautiful sparkling ocean, and some refreshing drink in her hand. She can see herself there with Lucifer and it’s the perfect distraction.

They part in the garage, Chloe walking to her car which she left behind yesterday when Lucifer picked her up from work. The drive across town takes way longer than it should, due to an accident, which makes Chloe thankful Lucifer picked up Trixie. She texts Lucifer to tell him she’s running late, but after a few minutes, her text is still unread. She frowns at her phone and continues focusing on the drive. 

As she concentrates, her mind wanders to almost two years ago now. When she’d been brought back. The months of feeling unlike herself. The confusion and pain she knew she was causing. If she’s honest with herself, she’ll never be who she once was. She _did_ wake up changed, but the changes have been good since the tether was cut. At first, she missed the connection to Lucifer, but the true connection they have is so much greater than some celestial cord. But it’s not just Lucifer that’s changed her; she was changed the moment she woke up. Chloe still wishes she could speak to others who’ve been resurrected, and maybe one day she will, but she knows it changes a person. She has an understanding of the world—of time and life and death—that you can only know after death.

* * *

Chloe parks in front of her house and walks up the walkway and opens the door. Instantly, she hears giggling and a series of shushes. She shuts the door and sets the keys on the entranceway table. “Hello?” she calls out, sing-song-y.

Another giggle.

She follows the sound and then specifically hears Lucifer whisper another shh.

Chloe walks around the corner and notices the blankets draped over the couch, which has been moved. All the cushions have been removed from the couch and Chloe expects that they’re tucked away inside the makeshift fort. Chloe steps out of her boots and removes her jacket. “Well, this is interesting. I didn’t realize I’d put in another room.”

“Hi Mom!” Trixie calls from inside the fort.

“Honestly, you are terrible at hiding,” Lucifer complains, still quiet.

“We’re not _hiding_ when we build a fort in the middle of the living room.”

“We did move a couch,” Maze adds.

“Maze?” Chloe asks.

She moves closer to the fort and kneels before what appears to be a doorway. She pulls back a blanket—the one from her bed—and sees Lucifer, Trixie, and Maze all sitting cross-legged with pillows surrounding them. Trixie beams at her, happy as can be. Lucifer is still feigning annoyance and Maze is playing with a knife. “A knife, Maze?”

“You only said I couldn’t let _her_ play with knives.” She motions towards Trixie with said knife.

Chloe holds out her hand. “Not after what happened with Miss Alien. Hand it over.”

“I didn’t realize it’d just explode,” Maze grumbles, handing over the knife. Chloe remembers all the stuffing from Miss Alien littering the living room like entrails.

“What is happening here?” Chloe sets the knife on the side table. 

“The small one was sad that another house didn’t work out, so we decided to build our own.”

Chloe smiles at Trixie after hearing Lucifer’s words. “Babe,” she says and reaches for her daughter’s hand. “We will find the perfect house and soon. Lucifer and I are looking everywhere and you’re going to love it.” She looks up to the shallow fort ceiling. “And, no offense, but I think this place is a little small. I can’t even fit in here.”

Trixie tugs on her hand. “Yes, you can.”

Lucifer helps and between the two of them, they pull Chloe into the fort. She tucks her legs as well and looks around the small space. “It’s cozy,” she offers.

“It’s not too bad,” Lucifer agrees. Chloe scoots closer to him and he wraps his arm around her waist. He motions to where they’re sitting. “This is obviously the living room.” Trixie sets Miss Alien II in her lap and wraps her arms around her favorite toy as if she’s settling in to hear a story. “The dining room and kitchen,” he says, waving his hand towards the “door.” Chloe laughs and he grins at her. “Maze is in our bedroom, which is pretty on brand, as the kids say.”

“What kids?” Chloe asks.

Lucifer rolls his eyes. “On one of Trixie’s insufferable shows.”

“You liked it!” Trixie disagrees. “You were singing the theme song by episode three.”

“Three episodes, Lucifer?” Maze asks.

Lucifer narrows his eyes. “I will kick you out of my home, Mazikeen.”

She stretches her legs out before her. “Well that’s fine, because I have to go anyway.” She holds up her phone briefly. “New bounty. Give them Hell, kid,” Maze says to Trixie as she shifts to crawl from the fort.

Chloe says nothing because Trixie seems so happy when Maze and her hang out, but she really hopes Trixie doesn’t try to “give them Hell.”

With Maze gone, Chloe can now stretch out her legs, as can Lucifer. Trixie lays down and tosses Miss Alien II in the air and they all just sit like that for a long time. Eventually, it’s time for dinner and homework. Chloe pulls out ingredients for a quick fried rice, while Trixie sets up her homework at the counter. Lucifer removes his jacket and tosses it over one of the chairs, leaning in to see what Trixie is working on.

Chloe ignores them as she cuts up carrots and onions, but her heart flutters as Lucifer sits down to help Trixie with her geography lesson. He starts pointing out all the places he’s been. “Greece,” he says fondly. “You’d love it. Crystal blue waters and the most delicious food. Do you like olives? Feta cheese?”

“What’s Feta cheese?”

Chloe laughs to herself.

Lucifer goes into a whole explanation on Feta and how it enhances any dish. He sits close to Trixie and Chloe sees how comfortable her daughter is with him. Trixie knows Lucifer is different—she saw his wings, of course—but she embraces him. She’s kind to him and she doesn’t ask him too many questions. Lucifer is patient with her, even when he’s pretending to be annoyed.

Chloe feels emotion building in her chest. Watching them, knowing her two favorite people in the world care so much for each other, overwhelms her. Lucifer glances at her just as she dumps the vegetables into her wok. She releases a soft sigh and stirs the vegetables. “Perhaps it’s time you check in with your dad,” Lucifer offers quietly.

“Okay.”

A moment after Trixie leaves the room to retrieve her phone, Chloe feels Lucifer’s arms wrap around her waist. She leans back into him.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

She stabs at the pan. “Nothing.”

“Are you angry about earlier?”

Chloe turns down the heat on the stove, giving them a few minutes to talk. She turns around to face him. “No. Actually, I’d forgotten about that.” She lays her hands on his chest, worrying one of his vest buttons between his fingers. “I just…I feel waves of emotions so hard sometimes. Seeing you and Trixie,” she looks up at him. “It’s silly.”

“No, it’s not, Detective. I feel the same.”

“Really?”

“I felt that way earlier. At the precinct. _That’s_ why I was acting…unusually.” His grip tightens around her waist. “I was looking at you through the window of Ella’s lab and I just found myself overwhelmed by you. It’s an interesting feeling. At one point, I’d claim it’s that stupid tether, but I know it’s more than that now.”

Chloe nods in agreement. Sure, she loved Dan—still does in some ways—but with Lucifer it’s so different. It’s the soulmate thing. 

Lucifer caresses from her cheek down to her neck, holding her. He looks at her in the same way that makes right-side up go upside down. She feels herself warm all over and she wants to get lost in the way he’s looking at her. She’s loved by him. Completely. Wholly. Just as she loves him and it astounds her every time. Chloe slides her hands up his chest, feeling his warmth through his clothes. 

Chloe’s understood all sorts of love, but nothing like being in love with an angel. 

That feeling overwhelms her and before she can parse her words, she asks, “Would you ever want to get married?”

Lucifer seems dumbstruck. His eyes widen and his mouth turns into a frown. Instantly, Chloe knows she’s pushed him too far. The house, the father-figure role to Trixie, the domesticity, were all big asks, but this is too much. He won’t want this.

Chloe drops her hands slowly. She puts on a brave face. “Sorry. Ignore me.”

Lucifer catches her hand in his. “Chloe,” he says softly and she prepares herself for rejection. He laughs and she looks up at him, confused. “I swear you can read my thoughts sometimes.” He holds her tighter against him with one hand. “Yes. I would want to marry you.”

“What?”

“Was that a proposal?” he asks her.

Chloe releases a shaky breath. “I mean…I was more asking in theory, but yes. I want to know if you’ll marry me.”

Lucifer looks at her in the same way again and she wonders why she ever doubted that he’d want more with her. “Yes, Chloe. I’d love to marry you.”

She wraps herself around him and they kiss slowly. The onions and carrots are burning behind them and Trixie is just moments from entering the room, but it doesn’t matter. Lucifer holds onto her and she feels safe. She’s strong and independent in a lot of ways, but people need strength from others sometimes and Lucifer has given her nothing but strength from the beginning. He pulls back to kiss across her cheeks and neck.

Chloe reaches back and turns off the wok. “Maybe we should order in.”

Lucifer nods. “It’s a cause for celebration. I’ll open a bottle of wine.”

He untangles himself from her, but as he steps back, Chloe catches his hand. “Sorry it wasn’t more romantic. I’m sorry if you wanted to propose to me,” she says after she realizes her proposal was unusual.

“Detective,” he says fondly, “it was romantic and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Chloe offers him one more kiss.

Lucifer grins at her before returning to his phone, typing in some information. He begins listing off food they’ve ordered in the past, while multitasking and reaching for a bottle of wine and then two glasses. She watches him and wonders what being the wife of the Devil will feel like. Not normal, of course, because they’re not normal, but it sounds like quite the adventure. After everything they’ve endured, it might actually be the most normal thing they’ve ever done.

Chloe remembers suddenly and asks, “What were you and Ella talking about earlier?”

He laughs and shakes his head. “Marrying you.”

“You wanted to marry me before I asked?”

“I’d imagine I’ve wanted to marry you for a long time.” He crosses the kitchen with a glass of wine for her. He runs his hand down her arm. “I’ve never found anything or anyone to truly tie me to Earth before but since meeting you, Chloe, I want to be tied to you in every way.”

“Even if it means becoming a stepfather. Making dinners and reading bedtime stories?”

Lucifer shakes his head. “It’s true that I’d never imagined this sort of life for myself, but my desires have changed. I desire a life with you.”

“See, now _that_ was romantic.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for reading, commenting, and being so kind and supportive! Trying to write for a new fandom is a bit daunting, but you've all been so encouraging! I'm going to take a little break until the new year, but hopefully I'll have something new for you soon.


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